I have a very, very strong suspicion that Pres. Bush may have thought that "put up your dukes" was an old medieval term having to do with poker night at the castle. There's a certain tendency for literalness seen in our President. (Like "staunch Republican effort" in his mind may mean "stop Republican effort...")
Someone must have clued the President in, because at a press conference yesterday Pres. Bush is quoted as saying the following, in reference to posing in a photo op with his clenched fists raised:
"You don't want the picture to be kind of, you know, duking it out, you know?" Bush said " 'OK, put up your dukes.' That's an old boxing expression."
That's an old boxing expression... Indeed it is. I sincerely believe even illiterates know this. I submit to you that it putting up one's dukes has been part of the vernacular in the English speaking world since long before GWB was born (Google says since the late 1800s among polite society). It bothers the heck out of me that Bush thinks he has to explain his vocabulary to the press of the reading world. How dumb does he think we are? Or by inference, how smart does he think he (and God) are?
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3 comments:
I think he's explaining that to himself, or he's just really proud to know something after saying classics like "Rarely is the question asked: is our children learning?" and "Make the pie higher."
Pistols beat me to it. Pres. Bush learned something new and he just wants to share.
He was going along with his No Speech Left Comprehensible mandate.
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