is "dirty blonde" depreciative?

[Laurence Horn]

On Mar 25, 2012, at 10:42 AM, Eric Nielsen wrote:

> 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

Maybe just for those dirty blonde jokes (on late-night and cable).

LH
>
>
> On Sun, Mar 25, 2012 at 9:02 AM, George Thompson <george.thompson at nyu.edu>wrote:
>
>> ---------------------- Information from the mail header
>> -----------------------
>> 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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