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Dear teachers,
Today I read the NYT’s article “Cash and Carry (the City) . The question I want to speak to you about now is the usage of some words in this article as “street money”, “ ward leaders", “yellow birds” which in my humble opinion casted suspition on US society’s honesty at all.
Would you be kind enough tell me whether these terms are put in the practice and are normal usage in your area? Is this something to be proud of?
Thank you in advance for your efforts.
Regards.
V.
Vil, I think we need the sentences in which these terms appear.
Hi Anglika,
I know your fondness for context but I figured it shouldn’t be so problematic to draw the article in question on your screen for a second. There is the relevant link.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/22/op...th&oref=slogin
Street money is the name for cash given to party committeemen and women who hand out literature and drum up the vote on primary and election days….Though legal, it has also become a subject for mandatory derision — at least for the Democratic campaigns and those out-of-state political commentators who have been camped out here for the last month. For them, handing out street money, an old political practice that is rarely used elsewhere, is archaic, unsavory or worse.
That’s not to say street money doesn’t cause problems. For one thing, by the time it reaches ward leaders, it is cash. While some ward leaders are assiduous about keeping receipts and filing the necessary public reports, others aren’t. Indeed, some ward leaders have — surprise! — skimmed money before it reached the street. There is even a name for this, “back-porch money” — not enough to build a house, but enough to get yourself a nice new porch.
For another, ward leaders have been known to take street money from candidates, promise support and then not deliver. There is a name for this, too. These ward leaders are called “yellow birds,” after the old airline commercial that touted vacation flights to Florida. They take your money and metaphorically (and sometimes literally) head south.
I beg your pardon for bringing you in an Queer Street.
Regards.
V.
Having seen the source sentences, I agree that the author is commenting that these practices are not well-regarded. They are all American terms, so I hope you will have a response from an American as to their frequency of use and their implications.Quote:
Originally Posted by vil
I've never heard "street money" or "yellow birds" -- ever. (I've heard of "snow birds" as a term for people who live in a warm climate for the winter and the colder climates in the summer.)
I've certainly heard of "ward leaders" but there is no negative or positive connotation to that phrase for me.
Not every city has "wards."