poorly educated men in nonmetropolitan areas

[GoodTaste]

Does "men" here mean "people (including women)"?

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Walter Harrington
@waltphd
·
8m
Replying to
@sciam
"On the one hand, the medical profession does advocate certain values, such as the paramount importance of saving lives."


Who exactly are you implying doesn't share that value? Trump's base? That is, as you say, low-income, poorly educated men in nonmetropolitan areas?

 

[emsr2d2]

No, I think he actually means men. As far as I can tell, he is suggesting that Trump's main "base" (supporters) are poorly educated, male, and live in non-metropolitan areas.

 

[Charlie Bernstein]

No, I think he actually means men. As far as I can tell, he is suggesting that Trump's main "base" (supporters) are poorly educated, male, and live in non-metropolitan areas.

Yes. In the US, we have a lot of colorful words for them, including:

- rednecks
- peckerwoods
- bubbas
- crackers
- goobers
- good ol' boys

Those all roll off the tongue more easily than "low-income, poorly educated men in nonmetropolitan areas."

You might enjoy Googling lumpen proletariat.

 

[GoesStation]

In the US, we have a lot of colorful words for them, including:

- rednecks :?:
- peckerwoods :?:
- bubbas :?:
- crackers :?:
- goobers :?:
- good ol' boys

Learners should be very careful with these words. All but the last can be offensive.

 

[Charlie Bernstein]

Learners should be very careful with these words. All but the last can be offensive.

Hm. I thought the last one was offensive, too!

 

[GoesStation]

Hm. I thought the last one was offensive, too!

I'm pretty sure it can be used affectionately.

 

[jutfrank]

So what exactly is a good ol' boy? Apart from being a low-income, poorly educated man from a non-metropolitan area, are there any other connotations?

I know this phrase primarily from the Dukes of Hazzard theme song. I can still remember wondering, at age 6, what on earth it could mean.

In the song, it seems to be an affectionate way for a certain kind of man (or woman?) to refer to a fellow man of a similar kind.

 

[GoesStation]

So what exactly is a good ol' boy? Apart from being a low-income, poorly educated man from a non-metropolitan area, are there any other connotations?

I'm not even sure those attributes apply. He's a reliable white guy (I assume) with simple tastes whose name is not infrequently followed by Bless his heart when it comes up in conversation.

I honestly don't know what people who use the expression have in mind.

 

[Charlie Bernstein]

So what exactly is a good ol' boy? Apart from being a low-income, poorly educated man from a non-metropolitan area, are there any other connotations?

I know this phrase primarily from the Dukes of Hazzard theme song. I can still remember wondering, at age 6, what on earth it could mean.

In the song, it seems to be an affectionate way for a certain kind of man (or woman?) to refer to a fellow man of a similar kind.

That's true. They call themselves all of the list I graciously provided. Self-deprecation is a great American virtue. (Unless you're the president.)

A good ol' boy is an old-fashioned, down-home traditionalist who likes his whiskey neat and his dashboard messy, his hunting camp quiet and his honky tonks noisy, his wrenches clean and his fingernails dirty, and his radio tuned to the nearest station that plays a lot of songs by guys named Hank.

By the way, I've never heard the Dukes theme song, but the degree of affection depends on the song. For instance, Don McLean's "American Pie" goes easy on 'em, but Randy Newman's "Good Old Boys" is downright savage.

 

[jutfrank]

Is it particularly associated with Texas, do you think? Or more widely with the South in general?

 

[Charlie Bernstein]

Is it particularly associated with Texas, do you think? Or more widely with the South in general?

The south in general.

 

[jutfrank]

A good ol' boy is an old-fashioned, down-home traditionalist who likes his whiskey neat and his dashboard messy, his hunting camp quiet and his honky tonks noisy, his wrenches clean and his fingernails dirty, and his radio tuned to the nearest station that plays a lot of songs by guys named Hank.

Great. Got it.

old-fashioned nope
down-home traditionalist not really
who likes his whiskey neat check
and his dashboard messy check
his hunting camp quiet um, check?
and his honky tonks noisy check!
his wrenches clean nope
and his fingernails dirty check
and his radio tuned to the nearest station that plays a lot of songs by guys named Hank Can I change that to Frank? check

It seems I'm 66% good ol' boy myself!

 

[GoodTaste]

Hm. I thought the last one was offensive, too!

Urban Dictionary: good ol' boy
2020-6-7 · A Southern born boy who is country to the core. He likes to hunt and could not be prouder of his gun collection. He carries one knife in his pocket and another in his boot, in case the one in his pocket gets confiscated. Usually drives a truck and listens to country. A hard working, honest gentleman, who prefers the simple life and is just looking for a girl he can take shootin'.

Is " take shootin'" a pun? The hunting target is different here.

 

[GoodTaste]

Great. Got it.

old-fashioned nope
down-home traditionalist not really
who likes his whiskey neat check
and his dashboard messy check
his hunting camp quiet um, check?
and his honky tonks noisy check!
his wrenches clean nope
and his fingernails dirty check
and his radio tuned to the nearest station that plays a lot of songs by guys named Hank Can I change that to Frank? check

It seems I'm 66% good ol' boy myself!

I found the definition for "check": to mark something with a check mark

Does it mean "Confirmed" here?

 

[jutfrank]

Does it mean "Confirmed" here?

check