Trophy wife
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
A trophy wife is commonly used to describe any wife of an (usually) older man; and who is considered a status symbol.
The term trophy wife was coined by Julie Connelly, a senior editor of Fortune magazine, in a cover story in the issue of Aug. 28, 1989[1] and immediately entered the language. Although it often has a pejorative spin, the term originally meant the second (or third) wife of a corporate titan, who was younger, beautiful and — equally important — accomplished in her own right.[2]
The marriage of former Playboy playmate Anna Nicole Smith to oil magnate, J. Howard Marshall, was widely followed by the U.S. media, as an extreme example,[3] as at the time of their marriage: he was 89 years old and she was 26.
Some sources claim the term was coined earlier (for example the Online Etymology Dictionary cites 1984 [4]) but that seems incorrect. The Oxford English Dictionary confirms Aug 28, 1989 as its first use. [5]
[edit] References
- ^ Safire, William. "" ON LANGUAGE; Trophy Wife"", 1994-5-1.
- ^ Saulny, Susan. "Will Her Face Determine His Fortune?", The New York Times, (2007-07-08). Retrieved on 2007-10-25.
- ^ Roy, Amit. "Padma walks out, but some ‘trophy wives’ have stayed the course", The Telegraph, India (2007-07-04).
- ^ Online Etymology Dictionary
- ^ Oxford English Dictionary Addition Series 1997 http://dictionary.oed.com/cgi/entry/50258704/50258704se14?single=1&query_type=word&queryword=trophy+wife&first=1&max_to_show=10&hilite=50258704se14
[edit] External links
- Alpha males forsake the trophy wife, article in the Sunday Times (UK), stating that "Academics say they have found the first evidence that successful British males increasingly prefer a spouse with a high-powered job to one who stays at home with the children."
[edit] See also
- Boy toyde:Trophy Wife
no:Trofékone
