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I liked the John Denver obituary (Oct. 14) but I would like to point out that your phrase “gained worldwide notoriety” is not considered good writing by the Standard Written English Police, of which I am one!
Notoriety connotes something sinister. The word you want is fame, although I would rewrite the whole sentence. Now if you look it up, you will find that technically it’s legal to use “notoriety” or its adjective, notorious, for either a gangster or a saint. But just take my word, it is not done by the better-educated.
