I recently noticed that the honorific "The Honorable" is often followed by just a name ("The Honorable James Lloyd") rather than a noun ("The Honorable Judge James Lloyd"). That seemed fairly reasonable, as "The Honorable" is usually applied to specific classes of people, and we can drop out the noun without confusion.
But then I realized that this happens sometimes with other adjectives–take, for example, the television program The Wonderful John Acton. It seems strange to have the definite article there, because without the adjective, "The John Acton" just doesn't make sense.
Can anyone shed any light on the grammar behind this construction?
Best Answer
The can be used with names. It usually indicates one's uniqueness. It is similar to a short form of the (one and only)...
"Hi, I'm Steven Colbert." "THE Steven Colbert?!?"
Also, to draw a similarity:
Something more familiar, maybe:
There is no difference between the Honorable James Lloyd and the amazing David Copperfield. It's really not that unusual.