[Ads-l] famous or infamous?

[Jonathan Lighter]

More paradigmatic:

CNN reporter Marshall Cohen says that "Brad Raffensberger...is famous, or
infamous, for being on the receiving end of Donald Trump's wild phone call
...cajoling him to help steal the election here in Georgia."

"Infamous" appears to mean no more than "well-known but not deserving of
true fame."

JL

On Tue, Jun 23, 2020 at 5:57 AM Jonathan Lighter <wuxxmupp2000 at gmail.com>
wrote:

> So I'm not the only one who hasn't seen the movie.
>
> JL
>
> On Tue, Jun 23, 2020 at 3:59 AM Wilson Gray <hwgray at gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> > Fort Lee, VA, not Fort Lee, NJ
>>
>> Fort Bragg, CA, and Fort Bragg, NC cause similar problems.
>>
>> On Wed, Jun 10, 2020 at 2:24 PM Ben Zimmer <bgzimmer at gmail.com> wrote:
>>
>> > On Wed, Jun 10, 2020 at 1:57 PM Laurence Horn <laurence.horn at yale.edu>
>> > wrote:
>> >
>> > > > On Jun 10, 2020, at 1:44 PM, Jonathan Lighter <
>> wuxxmupp2000 at GMAIL.COM>
>> > > wrote:
>> > > >
>> > > > Paradigm case.
>> > > >
>> > > > Yahoo News:
>> > > >
>> > > > "Fort Lee is named for Gen. Robert E. Lee, the infamous Confederate
>> > > > commander."
>> > > >
>> > > > It would have been easier (and less condescending to everybody)
>> just to
>> > > > leave out the value judgment (if that's what is).
>> > > >
>> > > > JL
>> > >
>> > > If also would have been easier and less condescending if they’d
>> realized
>> > > Fort Lee is actually named for General Charles Lee, who served under
>> > > Washington.  I remembered that from one of those McCullogh books about
>> > the
>> > > Revolutionary War, and wikipedia confirms.  Now Charles Lee himself
>> was
>> > > both famous and infamous (
>> > > https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Lee_(general)), court-martial
>> and
>> > > all, but for insubordination and other alleged offenses, not including
>> > > being a Confederate commander. That would have been no mean feat,
>> since
>> > he
>> > > was dead by the end of 1782.
>> > >
>> >
>> > The news article JL quoted is about Fort Lee, VA, not Fort Lee, NJ.
>> >
>> >
>> >
>> https://www.businessinsider.com/military-bases-named-after-confederate-leaders-2020-6
>> >
>> > --bgz
>> >
>> > ------------------------------------------------------------
>> > The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
>> >
>>
>>
>> --
>> -Wilson
>> -----
>> All say, "How hard it is that we have to die!"---a strange complaint to
>> come from the mouths of people who have had to live.
>> -Mark Twain
>>
>> ------------------------------------------------------------
>> 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."
>


-- 
"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