[General] Re: Obama & David Cameron

[thedaffodils]

Gordon Brown looked about as uncomfortable as a man mainlining Preparation H during his meeting with Barack Obama. But when the Messiah met Call Me Dave it was a marriage made in heaven.

Both the young pretenders are consummate actors. Obama was on a mission to prove to Europeans that he's One Of Them. CMD seemed desperate to prove he could get down with the folks in the hood.

Sympathising over Barack's busy schedule (or should that be 'sked-yule'?), Dave appeared to switch effortlessly into American. A stray microphone picked him up saying: 'These guys just chalk your diary up.'

Doesn't sound very Old Etonian to me. Both men were obviously anxious to ingratiate themselves.

Q1: CMD =?

Q2: 'get down with the folks in the hood. =?

Q3: 'These guys just chalk your diary up.' =?

Q4: What does the columnist mean for " Doesn't sound very Old Etonian to me"? I knew David Cameron is an old Etonian.


Thank you!

[colloquium]

Originally Posted by thedaffodils

Q1: CMD = From the context of the paragraph, it seems that "CMD" is refering to David Cameron, though I cannot explain why!

Q2: 'get down with the folks in the hood. = This means to appeal to the lower social classes. "The hood" is slang for a deprived area - a ghetto.

Q3: 'These guys just chalk your diary up.' = I think it means to keep busy, to keep a diary full of appointments - but I'm not sure.

Q4: What does the columnist mean for " Doesn't sound very Old Etonian to me"? I knew David Cameron is an old Etonian. I think it means that the kind of language Cameron used was not typical of an Etonian (or more generally, a well spoken English person). It is meant to draw attention to the fact that Cameron spoke in a more American manner to help encourage and create a better political relationship with Obama.


Thank you!

I'm not a teacher.

[bhaisahab]

CMD = Call me Dave. A nickname that seems to have been given to him because it is something he said or is reported to have said in one of his "meet the people" events in order, one supposes, to appear as "just an ordinary bloke".

[Anglika]

In the hood is a reference to hoodies - young people who wear a garment with a hood that they keep up over their heads; they often form gangs and are often in trouble. The general effect is threatening. http://image.guim.co.uk/sys-images/S...2/1hoodies.jpg

It is also a reference to a speech made by Cameron soon after he became leader of the Conservatives, in which he suggested that offering love to hoodies was more necessary than arresting them. It was interpreted by the press as "Hug a hoody" - implying that Cameron is soft.

[colloquium]

Originally Posted by Anglika

In the hood is a reference to hoodies - young people who wear a garment with a hood that they keep up over their heads; they often form gangs and are often in trouble. The general effect is threatening. http://image.guim.co.uk/sys-images/S...2/1hoodies.jpg

It is also a reference to a speech made by Cameron soon after he became leader of the Conservatives, in which he suggested that offering love to hoodies was more necessary than arresting them. It was interpreted by the press as "Hug a hoody" - implying that Cameron is soft.

I don't want to contradict you Anglika because you make some very relevant points on this issue, more relevant than the one I made or am about to make - but in the context of folks in the hood, "hood" is a slang word for "neighbourhood".

I just wanted to make that clear.

[Anglika]

Originally Posted by colloquium

I don't want to contradict you Anglika because you make some very relevant points on this issue, more relevant than the one I made or am about to make - but in the context of folks in the hood, "hood" is a slang word for "neighbourhood".

I just wanted to make that clear.

Accepted but I still think the journalist has the hoody reference in mind. It would go with the CMD

[I'm With Stupid]

Originally Posted by Anglika

Accepted but I still think the journalist has the hoody reference in mind. It would go with the CMD

I think it's more a sly reference to Obama's African-American background, with "in the hood" being African-American slang.

[Anglika]

Originally Posted by I'm With Stupid

I think it's more a sly reference to Obama's African-American background, with "in the hood" being African-American slang.

A good point!

[thedaffodils]

Hello all, thank you very much for your help.