Does ‘tart’ imply female?

Not sure how relevant the discussion will look six days later, but CNBC plans to run Ken Auletta‘s Tuesday breakfast interview with CBS chief Les Moonves — during which Moonves called Dan Rather‘s “tarting up” remarks about Katie Couric sexist and set off a bit of a firestorm — this weekend.

Meanwhile, an emailer comes down hard on American Women in Radio and Television president Marie Brennan‘s slam of Rather:

Who is Maria Brennan? Does she speak English? Does she write for a living? Does she have a dictionary? Does she ever open it? Does she know what she doesn’t know? “Tart” does imply female. But “tarting up”–the phrase used by Rather (of whom I’m certainly no fan)– is NOT gender-specific. I’m embarrassed for my (ignorant) sex.

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