is "dirty blonde" depreciative?

[Eric Nielsen]

I agree that "dirty blonde" is not generally considered as attractive as
"golden blonde". In fact, it just barely makes it into being blonde.

But, I think dirty blondes do escape some ridicule. One doesn't usually
have a dirty blonde in mind when a blonde joke is told. At least I don't
think so.

Eric


On Sun, Mar 25, 2012 at 9:02 AM, George Thompson <george.thompson at nyu.edu>wrote:

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> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       George Thompson <george.thompson at NYU.EDU>
> Subject:      Re: is "dirty blonde" depreciative?
>
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> I would take it as pejorative only in the esthetic sense of a color that
> falls within the range of "blonde", but is less attractive than "golden
> blonde".  Not a reflexion on the character or personality of the woman
> (usually, I suppose) under the hair.
>
> GAT
>
> On Sat, Mar 24, 2012 at 8:12 PM, Geoffrey Nunberg <
> nunberg at ischool.berkeley.edu> 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.
> >
> > Geoff
> >
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> --
> George A. Thompson
> Author of A Documentary History of "The African Theatre", Northwestern
> Univ. Pr., 1998, but nothing much since then.
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