Lately, there's been an expression in sports commentaries and which broadcasters have been throwing around which has been added to the general parlance which I often though was being used incorrectly, and it's been bugging me. Everytime I heard it, it was like fingernails being dragged accross the proverbial chalkboard.
Here's an excerpt from an article by the SGV Tribune's Aram Tolegian. He's writing about a phenomenal HS quarterback in the area:
McDonough entered the season as the marquee player in the area. With the reputation he earned last year came high expectations of more gaudy stats and another successful season for his team.I learned in school that the adjective gaudy means showy, or flashy or is used to refer to an ugly or garrish piece of clothing. How can statistics be gaudy? They are not ornate, I suppose they can be flashy but that isn't what the word refers to. How can a defensive back's high number of sacks be referred to as "those numbers are just gaudy!"
I've heard both Dan Dierdorf and Dick Enberg make similar statements.
After consulting three online dictionaries I found this definition on Merriam Webster's:
Main Entry: 1gau·dy
Pronunciation: 'go-dE, 'gä-
Function: adjective
Inflected Form(s): gaud·i·er; -est
1 : ostentatiously or tastelessly ornamented
2 : marked by extravagance or sometimes tasteless showiness : OUTLANDISH <gaudy lies> <gaudy claims>; also : EXCEPTIONAL <a gaudy batting average>
- gaud·i·ly /'go-d&-lE, 'gä-/ adverb
- gaud·i·ness /'go-dE-n&s, 'gä-/ noun
synonyms GAUDY, TAWDRY, GARISH, FLASHY, MERETRICIOUS mean vulgarly or cheaply showy. GAUDY implies a tasteless use of overly bright, often clashing colors or excessive ornamentation <circus performers in gaudy costumes>. TAWDRY applies to what is at once gaudy and cheap and sleazy <tawdry saloons>. GARISH describes what is distressingly or offensively bright <garish neon signs>. FLASHY implies an effect of brilliance quickly and easily seen to be shallow or vulgar <a flashy nightclub act>. MERETRICIOUS stresses falsity and may describe a tawdry show that beckons with a false allure or promise <a meretricious wasteland of casinos and bars>.
So the dictionary defines it as exceptional, but that's the first I've heard of it and Webster is the only one that I have seen define it so. I wonder if the usage became part of the language or was added to it? Or has gaudy always been a synonym to exceptional? An antonym is modest or sober, so that implies the opposite of a gaudy batting average would be a modest one.
Can any English majors, teachers or other language authorities help me with this one? I really want to know if the sports hacks have been using the word correctly all along.
OP
