infamous = 'talked-about; popular'

Tue Feb 26 21:28:30 UTC 2013

On Feb 26, 2013, at 4:14 PM, Jonathan Lighter wrote:

>> But I can't remember actually seeing a conjunction of this kind before.
>
> Me neither. It's also noteworthy that "infamy" has not been diluted

Let's watch for wedding announcements that proclaim the upcoming Day of Infamy for the happy couple.

> (any
> more than "gaiety" has been sexualized).

That one I'm not so sure about:

https://muse.jhu.edu/books/9780472028757
_Acts of Gaiety: LGBT Performance and the Politics of Pleasure (Triangulations: Lesbian/Gay/Queer Theater/Drama/Performance)_, by Sara Warner

Acts of Gaiety explores the mirthful modes of political performance by LGBT artists, activists, and collectives that have inspired and sustained deadly serious struggles for revolutionary change. The book explores antics such as camp, kitsch, drag, guerrilla theater, zap actions, rallies, manifestos, pageants, and parades alongside more familiar forms of "legitimate theater." Against queer theory's long-suffering romance with mourning and melancholia and a national agenda that urges homosexuals to renounce pleasure if they want to be  taken seriously by mainstream society, Acts of Gaiety seeks to reanimate notions of "gaiety" as…

etc.

Or consider this report of a gay pride parade in London:

On the 5th of July, 2008 I had the opportunity to witness a very gay parade. It was one of the most colorful and vibrant processions I had witnessed. The colorful group went down the roads of Central London in all gaiety to create and promote awareness about the homo-sexual community of the world. -

 http://cities.sulekha.com/bahrain/manama/331114/review.htm#sthash.vuJm4CYM.dpuf

What starts as a pun ends as language change, or as a SOTA, depending on your perspective.

LH

>
> It may be, though, that in the nonliterary world, both are now felt to be a
> little archaic..
>
> JL
>
> On Tue, Feb 26, 2013 at 3:46 PM, Laurence Horn <laurence.horn at yale.edu>wrote:
>
>> ---------------------- Information from the mail header
>> -----------------------
>> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
>> Poster:       Laurence Horn <laurence.horn at YALE.EDU>
>> Subject:      Re: infamous = 'talked-about; popular'
>>
>> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>>
>> On Feb 22, 2013, at 6:58 AM, Jonathan Lighter wrote:
>>
>>> Another possible gloss, in the golf-match context, might be "amusingly
>>> embarrassing."
>>>
>>> BTW, does anyone *actually* use "infamous" in the officially proscribed
>>> sense of "famous"?  Or is this here (there, I said it) really the sort of
>>> usage the proscribers have in mind?
>>>
>>> JL
>>
>> and then again, we can have two for the price of one:
>>
>>
>> http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/26/sports/ncaabasketball/a-fresh-five-push-michigan-into-the-ncaa-title-picture.html
>>
>> About the five freshman currently playing (but not all starting, or
>> starring) who bring "flair, a little extra cool" to the U. of Michigan's
>> men's basketball team:
>>
>> ==============
>> They have come to be called the Fresh Five, a nod to the famous and
>> infamous Fab Five, the college basketball stars turned cultural phenomenon
>> of the early 1990s. The current freshmen joke about it in private. But when
>> they arrived, they were not as heralded. They were not as brash. There were
>> no black shoes, no black socks.
>> ==============
>>
>> The earlier U. of M. Fab Five (whose name is of course a nod to the
>> original Fab Four across the pond) were indeed both famous and (for various
>> forms of misbehavior, on and off the court) infamous.  But I can't remember
>> actually seeing a conjunction of this kind before.
>>
>> LH
>>
>>
>>>
>>> On Thu, Feb 21, 2013 at 2:01 PM, Tom Zurinskas <truespel at hotmail.com>
>> wrote:
>>>
>>>> ---------------------- Information from the mail header
>>>> -----------------------
>>>> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
>>>> Poster:       Tom Zurinskas <truespel at HOTMAIL.COM>
>>>> Subject:      Re: infamous = 'talked-about; popular'
>>>>
>>>>
>> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>>>>
>>>> It appears to me that CNN has a negative bias against our president.
>> The
>>>> word "infamous" must refer to those who say it's not proper that he
>> play on
>>>> a "private" golf course.  What?  And then last night CNN after showing
>> Rand
>>>> Paul blaming the Prez for the sequester asks the viewers "Who do you
>> think
>>>> is the blame.?"  Talk about influencing a poll.  They never mentioned
>>>> Repugnantcan brinkmanship.
>>>>
>>>> On a second issue, I'd like to count how many times a sportscaster says
>>>> "We talked about.." during a game.  It's everywhere.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> Tom Zurinskas, Conn 20 yrs, Tenn 3, NJ 33, now Fl 9.
>>>> See how English spelling links to sounds at http://justpaste.it/ayk
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> ---------------------- Information from the mail header
>>>> -----------------------
>>>>> Sender: American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
>>>>> Poster: Jonathan Lighter <wuxxmupp2000 at GMAIL.COM>
>>>>> Subject: Re: infamous = 'talked-about; popular'
>>>>>
>>>>
>> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>>>>>
>>>>> Today CNN is saying "that highly talked-about golf match between
>>>> President
>>>>> Obama and Tiger Woods."
>>>>>
>>>>> Note my suggested def. at the top of the thread.
>>>>>
>>>>> (And the surprising - oops! I mean "eerie" - "Tiger Woods"
>>>> connection....)
>>>>>
>>>>> JL
>>>>>
>>>>> On Thu, Feb 21, 2013 at 12:25 AM, W Brewer <brewerwa at gmail.com> wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>>> ---------------------- Information from the mail header
>>>>>> -----------------------
>>>>>> Sender: American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
>>>>>> Poster: W Brewer <brewerwa at GMAIL.COM>
>>>>>> Subject: Re: infamous = 'talked-about; popular'
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>
>> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>>>>>>
>>>>>> <<<=85and it's one small step from ringleader to mastermind.>>>
>>>>>> Wagnerian tunes lead to ... a board game???
>>>>>>
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>>>>>
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>>>
>>>
>>> --
>>> "If the truth is half as bad as I think it is, you can't handle the
>> truth."
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>
>
>
> --
> "If the truth is half as bad as I think it is, you can't handle the truth."
>
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