From Mark Gongloff in Bloomberg: “He Borexited with all the quiet dignity for which he has become famous, declaring, ‘Them’s the breaks,’ a quote from Winston Churchill, or possibly Benny Hill.”
For students to appreciate the rhetoric here, they need a quick refresher on "Brexit" as a term and a policy in order to enjoy the mash up of Boris and Brexit and making it a past tense verb. They are unlikely to be familiar with Benny Hill, but perhaps a comparison to other "low brow," physical comedians would help. Jim Carrey or the Three Stooges are a start.
A famous person intentionally breaking a basic grammar rule is also worth discussion. We might also discuss the satirical tone here. Boris Johnson has never exhibited "quiet dignity."
It occurs to me that however much we like the sentence, when we find ourselves needing to explain four or five essential pieces of information just to allow students in on the joke... maybe we should find something more accessible.
On the other hand, that sentence made me laugh out loud... so if you are teaching senior citizens or news junkies...
The article that received the most nominations from readers, according to Bruni, was from a guest essay in the New York Times by Tim Kreider, who wrote: “American conservatism, which is demographically terminal and knows it, is acting like a moribund billionaire adding sadistic codicils to his will.”
The article that received the most nominations from readers, according to Bruni, was from a guest essay in the New York Times by Tim Kreider, who wrote: “American conservatism, which is demographically terminal and knows it, is acting like a moribund billionaire adding sadistic codicils to his will.”
First, this is from a persuasive essay and sharing it in class might force us to find something much more supportive of our right wing radical friends and students (and their parents), just to show that good writing is good writing, whoever produces it.
Second, it would be fun to discuss whether conservatism really IS terminal (will it really die out as old timers die off?), but "moribund" and "codicils" are useful vocabulary words to learn.
One last sample. In The Santa Barbara Independent, Nick Welsh commented on proposals to make gun owners take out insurance policies: “Like Santa Claus, the industry knows if you’ve been bad or good and what risk you pose to become a mass shooter. They have the actuarial tables; they’ve run the odds. And maybe if you’re a 21-year-old male incel stewing in all your unrequited juices, they’ll simply deny coverage.”
First, the term "incel" might need some discussion, but what struck me was the clever way Mr. Welsh connects a mythical law requiring insurance for your guns (like cars) might effect some changes in the more dangerous of our neighbors buying weapons due to insurance companies doing what they do. They figure the odds. They place financial weight on various outcomes. They don't like to pay claims.
The deep-frozen federal government might never be able to pass effective fun safety laws, but legislators love to tell people what to do, and mandating that all guns be insured makes everybody money while staying away from messy arguments about the Constitution.
How cool would it be to challenge students to consider ways problems can be approached from unexpected angles, using unexpected or unappreciated rules and regulations?
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