0
SuperESL Posted 14 years ago
Grammar
Marquee
My understanding is that the adjective 'marquee' is most often used to describe celebrated or eminent sportsmen or sportswomen (e.g. a marquee tennis player) but lately I have also noticed newspaper articles using the word in a general sense to mean 'most important' or 'leading' (e.g. "Most galling to him, however, is their lack of action on his marquee issue: gun control.")
I was wondering, how common and how accepted is this second, more general usage?
Thank you.
I was wondering, how common and how accepted is this second, more general usage?
Thank you.
Top answer
I, a speaker of BrE, know marquee only as a large tent.
- I, a speaker of BrE, know marquee only as a large tent.
Get the Weekly English Kit 📬
New words, one handy idiom, and a 2-minute quiz — delivered to your inbox to keep your streak alive.
4 Answers
0
0
SuperESLhow common and how accepted is this second, more general usage?It's fairly widely accepted.
A marquee is really just an architectural structure that juts out from a building to form a roof, usually over an entrance to the building. Marquees on theaters are used as space for advertising the film or play currently running, which includes the n
00
Hi,
Here is some background.
A marquee literally refers to the canopy-like structure outside a theatre. Thus, eg a marquee actor would be an actor whose name on the marquee is enough to make people flock to see the movie that he is in.
In
Here is some background.
A marquee literally refers to the canopy-like structure outside a theatre. Thus, eg a marquee actor would be an actor whose name on the marquee is enough to make people flock to see the movie that he is in.
In
00
Thank you for your detailed explanations.
I was wondering whether 'marquee,' when used as an adjective, is closer to 'celebrated' or 'celebrity'/'star' in meaning. To say someone is celebrated in a certain line of work (e.g. a celebrated historian) is unalloyed praise. 'Celebrity,' by contrast, can carry slightly pejorative connotations. Or perhaps this ambiguity is intrinsic to the word
I was wondering whether 'marquee,' when used as an adjective, is closer to 'celebrated' or 'celebrity'/'star' in meaning. To say someone is celebrated in a certain line of work (e.g. a celebrated historian) is unalloyed praise. 'Celebrity,' by contrast, can carry slightly pejorative connotations. Or perhaps this ambiguity is intrinsic to the word
0
Related Questions