Search results for 'tag:Genders tag:Expressions' matching tags 'Genders' and 'Expressions'

She talks about women and extremism and the West applauds

Jackson6612 — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 20:50:30 GMT

Benazir Bhutto, a kleptocrat in a Hermes scarf

She's back. Hurrah! She's a woman. She's brave. She's a moderate. She speaks good English. She's Oxford-educated, no less. And she's not bad looking either.

Question:
What does ''no less' mean?

I admit I'm biased. I don't like Benazir Bhutto. She called me names during her election campaign in 1996 and it left a bitter taste. Petty personal grievances aside, I still find jubilant (=extremely happy and pleased because of a success) reports of her return to Pakistan depressing. Let's be clear about this before she's turned into a martyr.

Questions:
1: I have problem in understanding the expression ''it left a bitter taste''. Saying ''it left a bitter taste on me about her'' makes much sense to me.
2: Don't you think some other should be used instead of ''jubilant''?
3: Why does the author say, ''before she's turned into a martyr''?

This is no Aung San Suu Kyi (=political leader of a pro-democratic party in Burma or Myanmar), despite her repeated insistence that she's "fighting for democracy", or even more incredibly, "fighting for Pakistan's poor".

This is the woman who was twice dismissed on corruption charges. She went into self-imposed exile while investigations continued into millions she had allegedly stashed away (=to store something secretly or safely somewhere) into Swiss bank accounts ($1.5 billion by the reckoning of Musharraf's own "National Accountability Bureau").

She has only been able to return because Musharraf, that megalomaniac (=someone who wants to have a lot of power), knows that his future depends on the grassroots (=basic, fundamental) diehard (someone who is very strong supporter of a person or idea) supporters inherited from her father's party, the PPP.

As a result, Musharraf, who in his first months in power declared it his express (=clear and definite) intention to wipe out corruption, has dropped all charges against her and granted her immunity from prosecution. Forever.

Notably, he did not do the same for his other political rival, Nawaz Sharif, who was recently deported after attempting his own spectacular return to Pakistan.

But the difference is that Benazir is a pro at playing to the West. And that's what counts. She talks about women and extremism and the West applauds. And then conspires.

The Americans and the British are acutely (=completely, extremely) aware that their strategy in the region is failing and that Musharraf's hold on power is ever more tenuous (=weak). They have pressed hard for Benazir and the General to cut a deal (=to make a deal) that would allow them to share power for the next five years in a "liberal forces government".

It's all totally bogus. Benazir may speak the language of liberalism and look good on Larry King's sofa, but both her terms in office were marked by incompetence, extra-judicial killings and brazen (=used to describe a person or the actions of a person who is not embarrassed about behaving in a wrong or immoral way) looting of the treasury, with the help of her husband â famously known in Pakistan as Mr 10 Per Cent.

In a country that tops the international corruption league, she was its most self-enriching leader.

Benazir has always cynically (=not caring that something might not be morally right, might hurt someone etc, when you are trying to get something for yourself) used her gender to manipulate: I loved her answer to David Frost when he asked her how many millions she had in her Swiss bank accounts. "David, I think that's a very sexist question."

A non sequitur (=a statement which does not seem to be connected in a reasonable or sensible way with what was said before) (does loot have a gender?) but one that brought the uncomfortable line of questioning to a swift end.

Of all Pakistan's elected leaders she conspicuously did the least to help the cause of women. She never, for example, repealed the Hudood Ordinances, Pakistan's controversial laws that made no distinction between rape and adultery.

She preferred instead to kowtow (=to be too eager to obey or be polite to someone in authority) to the mullahs in order to cling to power, forming an expedient (=helping you to deal with a problem quickly and effectively although sometimes in a way that is not morally right) alliance with Pakistan's Religious Coalition Party and leaving Pakistan's women as powerless as she found them.

The problem is that the West never seems to learn; playing favourites in a complicated nation's politics always backfires. Imposing Benazir on Pakistan is the opposite of democratic and doubtless will cause more chaos in an already unstable country.

Question:
Does ''nation'' refer to Pakistani nation?

Make no mistake, Benazir may look the part (=to look like a typical person of a particular type, to perform well and seem likely to be successfu), but she's as ruthless and conniving (=conspiring) as they come â a kleptocrat (=someone who seeks chiefly status and personal gain at the expense of the governed) in a Hermes (=Paris based company which is famous for perfumes, leather goods, headscarfs etc) headscarf.

Question:
What does ''as they come'' mean?

Re: office b-i-t-c-h?

Philip — Thu, 24 Jan 2008 01:27:06 GMT

Clive wrote:

Hi,

The person who uses this expression obviously dislikes the woman. There could be many reasons for this dislike.

A lot of people find it offensive to call a woman a b-i-t-c-h.

Clive

I do too,.................normally.

It is now non-gender specific in some cultures of inner-cities in the U.S.

Re: Mandy's mom flipped when she saw her phone bill.

Philip — Sat, 03 Nov 2007 00:30:42 GMT

Goodman wrote:

Philip wrote:
Other expressions: 'go postal', 'freak out', 'go crazy', 'blow her top (angry)'

I don't think 'have a hernia', works for a woman. You catch my drift!

Hernias come in both genders.....just depends on where it is.

Re: chew the fat

Mister Micawber — Fri, 07 Sep 2007 06:56:24 GMT

It makes no difference who the conversation is held with-- it depends on who you are uttering the sentence to. If I am talking to any familiar acquaintance or in any informal situation, I can tell him, 'I chewed the fat with President Bush last week'. Chew the rag is synonymous, and there is no gender difference-- English has very few gender-limited expressions.

Re: I'm not sure it was a HIM

Feebs11 — Tue, 24 Jul 2007 11:04:59 GMT

Bokeh wrote:
CalifJim wrote:
Hmm. I would not have described it that way at all.
I'm not even sure it's a him sounds like a very ordinary remark to me when in doubt about the sex of someone,
In Britain such an expression is quite common to describe someone with traits of a "third gender person"; the pronouns "it" and "him" being used by the speaker to display the level of contempt he believes an individual of this type deserves.

Interesting take on this. It must be something new - I've not been aware of this usage as one of contempt, but rather of uncertainty.

Re: I'm not sure it was a HIM

Bokeh — Tue, 24 Jul 2007 10:01:02 GMT

CalifJim wrote:
Hmm. I would not have described it that way at all.
I'm not even sure it's a him sounds like a very ordinary remark to me when in doubt about the sex of someone,

In Britain such an expression is quite common to describe someone with traits of a "third gender person"; the pronouns "it" and "him" being used by the speaker to display the level of contempt he believes an individual of this type deserves.

Re: 'a half' or 'half ; by gender

Clive — Thu, 05 Jul 2007 14:36:45 GMT

Hi,

About a half domestic companies are unwilling to employ âoldâ people and place a limitation on qualifications by gender.

1. a half domestic companies / half domestic companies.

Which is right? You need to speak of 'half of domestic companies'. The article 'a' can be used, but more commonly I hear 'One half of . . .' or simply 'half of . . .'

In business-oriented writing, people will often say '50% of . . .'

2. I don't know if 'place a limitation on qualifications by gender' is appropriate expression. No, your meaning is not clear.

I want to express that when companies hire workers, they impose different requirements according to the applicants' sex. <<< This is a much better way to say it.

About 50% of domestic companies are unwilling to employ 'old' people, and impose different requirements according to the applicants' gender.

The comma is to show that the scope of 'unwilling to' does not extend to 'impose'.

Best wishes, Clive

'a half' or 'half ; by gender

Ahn — Thu, 05 Jul 2007 14:20:21 GMT

About a half domestic companies are unwilling to employ âoldâ people and place a limitation on qualifications by gender.

1. a half domestic companies / half domestic companies.

Which is right?

2. I don't know if 'place a limitation on qulifications by gender' is appropriate expression.

I want to express that when companies hire workers, they impose different requirements according to the applicants' sex.

(Pls help)Compare and Contract Essay.(pls help)

Ming664413 — Fri, 08 Jun 2007 08:18:56 GMT

Gender Differences and Similarities in Childhood

âBig boys do not cryâ (Kommer D., 2006, p.249), so what is expected of big boys? Since genders are divided males and females, discriminations have been existing. Even though many employers or parents think that there are no different unbalance treatment to men and females, men, in fact, are treated unfairly not only in jobs but also at home. Fortunately, male are female children are treated equally at schools.

It looks fair between men and women, but men and women are treated not equally in some certain job positions. For example, in many restaurants, employers purely hire hostess, females, because employers want to use females to attract many men to come to the restaurant in order to earn more money. In contract, men hostess are viewed by the employers that men will probably scare customers because of their aggressive facial expression. Many parents, furthermore, merely trust females to look after their babies because women are viewed tenderer than men. Women are commonly viewed very patient to treat moody babies and not easily become angry at babies. Men are commonly viewed intolerant with babies, in contract. While babies are crying, men are viewed do not care and let the babies cry until the babies lose voice. Indeed, males have less jobs opportunities than women.

Another difference between boys and girls are punishments from their parents during childhood. Many adults have traditional perception of boys being physically and mentally stronger than girls. As a result, boys suffer worse penalties from their parents for refusing to conform to their given roles. If boys break free from their given roles, they will be punished, such as locked in their rooms and not given supper. Contradictory, girls are viewed as weak; thus, they cannot tolerate painful punishments. In general, girls are pictured to be more obedient, so if a girl does something wrong, she is expected to be treated with a kinder attitude from their parents. For instance, if a girl breaks her motherâs mirror, her mother may think it is merely an accident and forgive her daughter. On the other hand, if the son breaks the mirror, he might get punished for his disobedience even though it is merely an accident. In short, genders have already been judged differently in a kind of punishment.

Even though self-perspective and chastisement are different between boys and girls, the way to study for boys and girls is similar at school. Both gifted male and female children are enthusiastic to answer questions when teachers ask. Also, they are active to ask questions when they face with a problem from assignments. For instance, when students of chemistry class have some problems on why hydrogen and oxygen can be combined together, the students will ask their chemistry teacher to explain it in depth until the students understand. Although the teacher may need to take a long time to explain it, and some students may feel disturbed by the students who ask questions during class time, the enthusiastic students will still continue to ask for clear explanations because it is very important for them to recognize every detail. In other words, boys are as well active as girls in class to pursue answers when they have trouble in their majors. All in all, both boys and girls are able to handle difficult problems if they are willing to seek clarification.

In brief, even though males are having difficulties finding some jobs and extra chastisement from parents, there are still many admirable teachers pay high effort to teach both male and female students.

Re: Female is the weaker gender. Discuss.

Pucca — Thu, 24 May 2007 19:49:55 GMT

(Quote of Alexa's non-English post removed by moderator)

Do you know that there are people here who understand it? If you think they won't aprove your post for being..rude, why should you say rude words? You might say it in the street, at home, at work, with friends..but I don't think that expression should be here..I don't know, I wouldn't like to read something which I don't understand in a forum where I am taking part.

The reason that coloured people were made slaves was that they were scientifically proved inferior to whites.

Who proved it? I don't think you can prove such thing. They are humans, aren't they? The only different thing is the colour of their skin. They were made slaves because they were poorer, in my opinion.