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Retroterm of the day: Limelight.

May 21, 2009 //  by David Keyes

During the 1820s a new type of lamp incorporated a rotating container of incandescent lime which was heated to the point that it gave off intense light. So-called limelighting was used by theaters around the world until it was replaced by electric arc lamps late in the nineteenth century. Nonetheless we still say that actors and others being paid a lot of attention are in the limelight. Those hungry for this kind of attention seek the limelight.

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