Talk:class act

RFD discussion: April 2021
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. In the world of pop music, it can simply mean putting up an act that is a smash. It has even been used for excelling in performance on the market. 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)


 * sense Deleted by and cleaned up by  Yellow is the colour (talk) 20:51, 2 April 2021 (UTC)