“Notorious” means famous in a bad way, as in “Nero was notorious for giving long recitals of his tedious poetry.” Occasionally writers deliberately use it in a positive sense to suggest irony or wit, but this is a very feeble and tired device. Nothing admirable should be called “notorious.”
The same goes for “notoriety,” which also indicates a bad reputation.
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This week on the podcast we present Paul Brians’ reading from his blog post “Let’s Talk Turkey” and a discussion of lots of other place names.
End-of-year sale on the book: Use the coupon code FIFTEEN to get Common Errors in English Usage 3rd Edition at $4 off the cover price. Order through wmjasco.com.
This is the tenth year of the Common Errors in English Usage calendar. To celebrate, we are bringing back some of our favorite interesting, funny, but sometimes merely silly entries through the years before going on hiatus in 2016.
Enjoy the calendar? Buy the book!
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