is "dirty blonde" depreciative?

[Geoffrey Nunberg]

>From the OED:

dirty blonde adj. and n. orig. U.S. (mildly depreciative)  (a) adj.(of the hair) dark blonde; blonde tinged with a darker colour;  (b) n.a person with hair of this colour.

When I was growing up, the term referred simply to a hair color, with no implication of disapproval.

Geoff

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