powerful = 'showing great resilience or fortitude'

[Jonathan Lighter]

Exx.:

1998 Pedro Almodovar in _The Advocate_ (Feb. 3) 49: I think it is wonderful
to see a powerful woman over 40 with all of her wrinkles. It is about
humanity. Dramatically speaking, everyone suffers, of course, but women
are... more interesting.

Presumably there are some earlier exx. (was the phrase use about _Thelma
and Louise_ in 1991?), but  those I see refer solely to physical strength,
political power, or, later, business stature.

JL


On Fri, Apr 26, 2013 at 9:15 AM, Jonathan Lighter <wuxxmupp2000 at gmail.com>wrote:

> ---------------------- Information from the mail header
> -----------------------
> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       Jonathan Lighter <wuxxmupp2000 at GMAIL.COM>
> Subject:      powerful = 'showing great resilience or fortitude'
>
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Usually in combination with "woman."  CNN describes a bombing victim who
> lost a leg as "a brave and powerful woman" for appearing in a news
> conference yesterday.
>
> JL
>
> --
> "If the truth is half as bad as I think it is, you can't handle the truth."
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------
> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
>



--
"If the truth is half as bad as I think it is, you can't handle the truth."

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