[Idiom] 'to pull a runner'

[Olympian]

Hello,

what is the meaning of 'pull a runner'? The sentences is:

Hopefully, he hasn’t pulled a runner already.

​

It is from this article about an altercation with a foreigner on a bus in Korea.

Thank you.

 

[TheParser]

Hello,

what is the meaning of 'pull a runner'? The sentences is:

Hopefully, he hasn’t pulled a runner already.

​

It is from this article about an altercation with a foreigner on a bus in Korea.

Thank you.

REMINDER: NOT A TEACHER


(1) I, too, read about this incident in my local newspaper.

(2) But the article did not contain the phrase "to pull a runner."

(3) So I googled and discovered this:

It appears that in the country that you mentioned, there are sometimes disagreements

between local employers and people they hire from other countries. Sometimes those

foreign employees "pull a runner." That is, they just leave their work and often that

country.

(a) So I guess your quotation means something like: If he has left his job, we will not

be able to contact him; if he has left the country, we will not be able to do anything

about his behavior.

P.S. This is strictly a language website. So I am not allowed to comment on the

facts of the case. If I did, a moderator would delete my opinion.

 

[5jj]

I know the expression as 'do a runner'.

 

[bhaisahab]

I know the expression as 'do a runner'.

Me too.

 

[Olympian]

REMINDER: NOT A TEACHER


(1) I, too, read about this incident in my local newspaper.

(2) But the article did not contain the phrase "to pull a runner."

(3) So I googled and discovered this:

It appears that in the country that you mentioned, there are sometimes disagreements

between local employers and people they hire from other countries. Sometimes those

foreign employees "pull a runner." That is, they just leave their work and often that

country.

(a) So I guess your quotation means something like: If he has left his job, we will not

be able to contact him; if he has left the country, we will not be able to do anything

about his behavior.

P.S. This is strictly a language website. So I am not allowed to comment on the

facts of the case. If I did, a moderator would delete my opinion.

@TheParser, thank you for your response. The phrase appears in the blog, I think as a part of an update by the blogger, and it is not a part of the news story. I had also done a quick search but I seem to have missed out on the sites that talk about this phrase.

I understand you cannot comment about the facts here. If you don't mind, you could send me a PM about it, or you could perhaps use one of the other forums if that is appropriate.

@fivejedjon and bhaisahab, 'to pull a/an...' seems to be an Americanism. For example, 'to pull an OJ', whereas in BrE, you might say it as 'to do an OJ'. (Not sure if I am right.)

 

[TheParser]

I understand you cannot comment about the facts here. If you don't mind, you could send me a PM about it, or you could perhaps use one of the other forums if that is appropriate.


REMINDER: NOT A TEACHER


(1) Thank you for your thoughtful note.

(2) In American English, we have the expressions "I would not touch that with a

ten-foot pole" and "That's a hot potato."

(a) They refer to a topic that is super controversial.

(3) So I would never discuss certain topics even in a so-called private message

or in one of the members-only forum. When you live in the United States, you learn

to keep very quiet regarding certain topics. I imagine that every country has its

taboo subjects.

(4) In fact, I just read something that I wrote down in my notebook of quotations:

"Whatever is on your mind does not need to be on your lips."

 

[Tdol]

Doing a midnight runner is also used for leaving a job without giving any notice.

 

[Tdol]

I understand you cannot comment about the facts here. If you don't mind, you could send me a PM about it, or you could perhaps use one of the other forums if that is appropriate.

I read the story and wouldn't be able to comment on the facts because I don't speak Korean and don't know the issues involved in this particular case. I do know that it is a very sensitive topic for both sides, and the insensitivity displayed in some of the comments on the page show that. Ethnic and cultural issues can quickly become inflammatory. In this case, it's probably best to leave it to the Korean legal system to sort it out.

 

[Olympian]

[...]
(3) So I would never discuss certain topics even in a so-called private message

or in one of the members-only forum. When you live in the United States, you learn

to keep very quiet regarding certain topics. I imagine that every country has its

taboo subjects.

(4) In fact, I just read something that I wrote down in my notebook of quotations:

"Whatever is on your mind does not need to be on your lips."

@TheParser, thank you for the quotation.:up: I should have learned that many years ago ;-), but better late than never.

I understand your reticence (not sure it is the right word) although I am neither in the US not in the country in question (or country concerned - not sure which one is better here). But I am surprised about 'When you live in the United States, you learn
to keep very quiet regarding certain topics.' Because I think there is complete freedom of speech in the US unlike in countries like China or other authoritarian regimes. Of course, I understand that some views may be controversial, but as long as they are not politically incorrect, I thought it may be OK to express. But the quotation is the ultimate wisdom here because I also know that whatever is said on the Internet stays there pretty much for ever (forever?).

 

[TheParser]

@TheParser, thank you for the quotation.:up: I should have learned that many years ago ;-), but better late than never.

I understand your reticence (not sure it is the right word)

REMINDER: NOT A TEACHER


(1) Yes, the right word is "reticence." Or maybe a better word is fear!

(2) As this is strictly a language website, my answer shall be brief and

super discreet:

Here in the United States there is a considerable amount of freedom of speech

and the press (media). But there are many things that are either illegal to say

or not wise to say. Of course, it is better than in "certain" other countries, but

there are certain topics that are not discussed in public. By the way, I think that

you are the journalism fan? Am I right? I had better stop before I say something that

gets deleted. This is an international helpline. So its members have to be careful

not to hurt the feelings of other members.

P.S. On a happier note, I hear that newspapers are doing great in India. Here the

ones in the big cities are losing (young) readers and older readers like me are dying

off. I hear, however, that small-town newspapers are still doing pretty well.

 

[Olympian]

I read the story and wouldn't be able to comment on the facts because I don't speak Korean and don't know the issues involved in this particular case. I do know that it is a very sensitive topic for both sides, and the insensitivity displayed in some of the comments on the page show that. Ethnic and cultural issues can quickly become inflammatory. In this case, it's probably best to leave it to the Korean legal system to sort it out.

@tdol, thank you for the phrase doing a midnight runner. Although it seems similar to 'fly by night', it is interesting to see that the meanings of these two phrases is different. Or can the meaning of 'doing a midnight runner' be stretched to mean 'unreliable' (because he ran away without informing)?

While I agree that ethnic, cultural, religious, political issues have the potential for becoming inflammatory, from the language point of view, I think it is better to know the potential for unknowingly offending someone because of similar sounding offensive words in the culture we are visiting (although we can never be sure of comprehensively learning all such words ). A few years ago there was an altercation between an Indian cricketer and an Australian one because the Indian uttered something in his local language that sounded like 'monkey' to the other guy!!

 

[Olympian]

@TheParser, thank you for the quotation.:up: I should have learned that many years ago ;-), but better late than never.

I understand your reticence (not sure it is the right word)

REMINDER: NOT A TEACHER


(1) Yes, the right word is "reticence." Or maybe a better word is fear!

(2) As this is strictly a language website, my answer shall be brief and

super discreet:

Here in the United States there is a considerable amount of freedom of speech

and the press (media). But there are many things that are either illegal to say

or not wise to say. Of course, it is better than in "certain" other countries, but

there are certain topics that are not discussed in public. By the way, I think that

you are the journalism fan? Am I right? I had better stop before I say something that

gets deleted. This is an international helpline. So its members have to be careful

not to hurt the feelings of other members.

P.S. On a happier note, I hear that newspapers are doing great in India. Here the

ones in the big cities are losing (young) readers and older readers like me are dying

off. I hear, however, that small-town newspapers are still doing pretty well.

@TheParser, I understand the expression of same views in private or in a public forum can be totally different. Also, I understand that certain expressions can be illegal (same in India). Yes, I like the newspapers. Surprisingly, the number of newspapers in India seems to be on the rise. And some of them (such as Mint) are in collaboration with foreign publications such as The Wall Street Journal. However, the language standard of some of the local and even national English newspapers is not that good.

 

[emsr2d2]

BrE (don't know if it's regional): "do a midnight flit" = to disappear in the middle of the night.

 

[Tdol]

BrE (don't know if it's regional): "do a midnight flit" = to disappear in the middle of the night.

I haven't heard that one.

 

[Tdol]

While I agree that ethnic, cultural, religious, political issues have the potential for becoming inflammatory, from the language point of view, I think it is better to know the potential for unknowingly offending someone because of similar sounding offensive words in the culture we are visiting (although we can never be sure of comprehensively learning all such words )

Maybe we should be drawing up glossaries for travellers of these terms. ;-)

 

[bhaisahab]

BrE (don't know if it's regional): "do a midnight flit" = to disappear in the middle of the night.

I've heard it as "moonlight flit".

 

[BobK]

I've heard it as "moonlight flit".

Me too.

And like other speakers of Br Eng, I know the phrase in question as 'do a runner', There are idioms with 'pull' meaning something like 'do'. The first three off the top of my head [another idiom - you can probably guess what it means] are 'pull a flanker' [=do/make a flanking move - gain a tactical advantage by advancing down the flank and attacking from somewhere unexpected], 'pull a sickie' [= miss work on grounds of a pretended illness]., and 'pull a fast one' [=do something underhand/mischievous]. There are no doubt others...

b

 

[Tdol]

My ignorance. ;-)

 

[Olympian]

@TheParser, fivejedjon, gillnetter, emsr2d2, bhaisahab, bobk, thank you all very much for teaching me these new terms. This thread has been quite productive for me. I would not have learned all these if I had not missed the links for the phrase I was looking to understand when I did a quick search.

@tdol, that is a good idea - a glossary would be nice. :up:

 

[5jj]

As opposed to The Parser, I cannot think of anything that would be illegal to say (Short of screaming "Fire!" in a crowded theater, thus causing a panic). What one says or the manner in which they say it in may not be in the best of taste, but they have the right to say it under The First Amendment to the US Constitution.

I don't think you have the right to use inflammatory language, and the libel laws prevent you from saying some things that you might like to.

I say 'you' because I am not American, but the same thing applies to us Brits.