Talk:class act
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The sarcastic definition. Oh, and the first definition sounds a bit crappy to my ears too Yellow is the colour (talk) 00:30, 1 April 2021 (UTC)
- Deleted. And yes, the first definition needs attention. SemperBlotto (talk) 06:24, 1 April 2021 (UTC)
- Something has been lost in the replacement of the original wording, IMO. The notion of "excellence" alone doesn't completely capture the meaning of the term - there's definitely a sense in which it's used to denote grace/dignity/refinement. e.g. in the following quotes from the New York Times:
Still, the management shift was widely viewed as positive, driving Intel’s shares up about 8 percent. On Twitter on Wednesday, Mr. Loeb of Third Point called Mr. Swan “a class act” who “did the right thing for all stakeholders stepping aside” for Mr. Gelsinger.
“I will assert that we should stand up for those we are certain are genuinely class-act, selfless individuals,” Charles Welte, a junior on the team, wrote on Twitter. “It’s discouraging to see people removed from their dedicated positions despite rehearsing admirable principles that were instilled among countless student athletes.”
Warren is giving the right answer to Klobuchar forgetting the Mexican president’s name and looks like a class act doing it. This dynamic between the two women is great: Warren hits Klobuchar as hard as any other candidate, but stands up for her when she’s being treated unfairly.
- These all carry a clear sense of decency and moral propriety. Colin M (talk) 17:11, 1 April 2021 (UTC)
- These examples show that in many cases the excellence has an aspect of grace/dignity/refinement, and this may originally have been an important connotation. But in more than a few other uses this aspect is not so clear. In sports reports, it can be used for an excellent but not specifically graceful performance leading to a resounding victory.[1][2] In the world of pop music, it can simply mean putting up an act that is a smash.[3] It has even been used for excelling in performance on the market.[4] None of these uses has a moral dimension. --Lambiam 23:47, 2 April 2021 (UTC)
- Yeah, I think these should be separate senses. e.g. Macmillan splits it this way. Also, I think the direction of change over time is probably the opposite. i.e. it began with a meaning like "an act that's best in its class", and later drifted toward the other meaning from speakers inferring an association with class ("admirable behaviour; elegance"). Colin M (talk) 01:38, 3 April 2021 (UTC)
- These examples show that in many cases the excellence has an aspect of grace/dignity/refinement, and this may originally have been an important connotation. But in more than a few other uses this aspect is not so clear. In sports reports, it can be used for an excellent but not specifically graceful performance leading to a resounding victory.[1][2] In the world of pop music, it can simply mean putting up an act that is a smash.[3] It has even been used for excelling in performance on the market.[4] None of these uses has a moral dimension. --Lambiam 23:47, 2 April 2021 (UTC)
- sense Deleted by SemperBlotto (talk • contribs) and cleaned up by Lambiam (talk • contribs) Yellow is the colour (talk) 20:51, 2 April 2021 (UTC)