is "dirty blonde" depreciative?

[Ronald Butters]

I thought it was ditchwater blonde. Or maybe I am confusing it with "dull as ditchwater"?

On Mar 24, 2012, at 8:24 PM, Larry Sheldon wrote:

> On 3/24/2012 7:17 PM, Arnold Zwicky wrote:
>
>> On Mar 24, 2012, at 5:12 PM, Geoff Nunberg wrote:
>>
>>> 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.
>>
>> for me too.  but then i'm an old guy.
>
> Me too.  I'm not sure I remember "dirty blonde" but there was
> "dishwater" blonde that I think was a color descriptor with no other
> implications.
>
> --
> Requiescas in pace o email           Two identifying characteristics
>                                        of System Administrators:
> Ex turpi causa non oritur actio      Infallibility, and the ability to
>                                        learn from their mistakes.
> ICBM Data:  http://g.co/maps/e5gmy        (Adapted from Stephen Pinker)
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------
> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org

------------------------------------------------------------
The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org