[Ads-l] famous or infamous?

[Jonathan Lighter]

I don't think being on the receiving end of something can be judged
"infamous" in the standard sense.

JL

On Tue, Apr 26, 2022 at 3:00 PM Dan Goncharoff <thegonch at gmail.com> wrote:

> I have always understood "infamous" to mean "well known for doing something
> bad", which accurately describes Trump supporters' views of Brad
> Raffensberger.
> DanG
>
>
> On Sun, Apr 24, 2022 at 10:10 AM Jonathan Lighter <wuxxmupp2000 at gmail.com>
> wrote:
>
> > 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
> >
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------
> 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