Printable View
Every time I see Nixon's speech in 1974 I am on the flour - "...WELL , I AM NOT A CROOK...!" ~D ~D ~D ~D ~D ~D ~D ~D ~D ~D ~D ~D ~D ~D ~:joker: ~:joker: ~:joker: ~:joker: ~:joker: ~;p ~;p ~;p :devilish: :devilish: :devilish: :cowboy: :cowboy: :cowboy: :jawdrop: :tomato: and finally - :barrel: :barrel: :barrel: (he was drunk?)
Please add some understatements for the sake of history ~:cheers:
You eat bread everytime you watch Nixon's '74 speech?
Neville Chaimberlain (PM before Churchill)
"Peace in our time"
Understatement of the Century
This is far from the biggest understatement of all times. How about Chamberlains remarks after his meeting with Hitler of I hold in my hand peace for the world or something to that effect. Surely that tops it by miles.
Technical note: that is not an understatement, it is a false hood.Quote:
Originally Posted by caesar44
As for understatement, the one that always sticks in my mind is the NASA communications person a few seconds after Challenger exploded saying, "Flight controllers here are looking very carefully at the situation. Obviously a major malfunction." It is not amusing, but it sticks with me.
Quote:
Originally Posted by ian_of_smeg16
yup after the berling congress. he said. Well i brought peace to our times.
I am a Berliner. thats funny.
Ich Bin Ein Berliner!
*roughly translated as I am a doughnut...understatement anyone?
Nixon was indeed a false hood who according to close friends spent most of his final days on the flour being drunk.
My favourite is the part of Emperor Hirohito's August 1945 capitulation speech where he stated that 'the war in the Pacific has not necessarily developed in Japan's favour'.
Wow I didnt know you could get drunk on flour ~D Can you back this up at all?Quote:
Nixon was indeed a false hood who according to close friends spent most of his final days on the flour being drunk.
You can... it will get messy, but it is entirely possible. I think this is worth trying out. You go first. ~D
Ahhh, a very good one. Understatement while not wrong, and a big one at that.Quote:
My favourite is the part of Emperor Hirohito's August 1945 capitulation speech where he stated that 'the war in the Pacific has not necessarily developed in Japan's favour'.
'There is something wrong with our bloody ships today' - Admiral Beatty at Jutland after two of his Battle Cruisers explode and sink
I believe that after Waterloo, Wellington's despatch was so devoid of superlatives that the American ambassador (I think) thought Napoleon had won.
Anything Comical Ali said ~D
Otherwise I would agree to the Chamberlain one.
Being that this is an international forum perhaps we need to put in the definition of understatement.
understated: avoiding obvious emphasis or embellishment
An understatement would not be false; instead it would be true, but not providing sufficient description of the magnitude of something.
It's like a surgeon getting ready to cut into you without benefit of anesthetic saying, "This might hurt a little." The natural response to understatement would be, "Well, DUH!" or "No, $**t!"
That's a good one, I had forgotten about that. Stereotypical British understatement.Quote:
Originally Posted by Grey_Fox
Rock n' Roll will be gone by June.
Variety Magazine, Early 1955
(does that count?)
It is backed up by the first part of the thread, and particularly Papewaio's expertise.Quote:
Originally Posted by Gawain of Orkeny
Quote:
Originally Posted by Papewaio
Yes , we in the ME are eating flour , drinking water and then going to the fireplace and waiting for Nixon's speech...:)
from what a woman wants//mel gibson
i know i'm not a perfect dad.
~D ~D ~D Such a humor... ~D ~D ~D "He wrote flour instead of floor !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! , you are killing me dude" The sharpness...the ability to catch the little things...Quote:
Originally Posted by Gawain of Orkeny
Now is it really an understatement? If something is 'bloody wrong' then it is very wrong. And that was certainly the case. It would have been an understatement if he had said:Quote:
Originally Posted by Red Harvest
"I say, our ships are not working at optimal efficiency today. Could I have another cup of tea please?"
Actually that's a false prediction.Quote:
Originally Posted by strike for the south
No he said "bloody ships" not "bloody wrong." "Bloody wrong" would have indeed taken it out of the understatement category, because it was clear to everyone that something was very, very wrong with them at that point.Quote:
Originally Posted by Kraxis
One for the biochemists amongst us. Watson and Crick concluded their paper in which they described the structure of DNA with:
That must be about the most understated announcement of a epoch making scientific breakthrough.Quote:
It has not escaped our notice that the specific pairing we have postulated immediately suggests a possible copying mechanism for the genetic material.
I don't know if it strictly an understatement but "I am just going outside, and I may be some time" deserves a mention too.
How the heck could I have missed that... ~:confused:Quote:
Originally Posted by Red Harvest
Anyway, yes it is an understatement, butthe 'bloody' does add a sense of frustration into the words of Beatty. He wouldn't use that word unless he was fuming at the brigde over some poor design. I can easily see it for me that he was actually yelling. But yes, it is still an understatement.
english use bloody in almost every sentence
The understatement lies in the discrepancy between 'something wrong' and 'exploding and sinking'.Quote:
Originally Posted by Grey_Fox
Alas, the 'understatement' is quite typical of the English use of language. In French that victory would've been announced in pompous, glorifying language. So I can't think of any funny understatement myself.Quote:
Originally Posted by Grey_Fox
*Knows that some are now desperately trying to combine 'can't think of any' and 'French victory' into some sort of joke. ~;) *
Nixon was a politician and therefore a crook so his statement is a lie. ~D But I like the fact that even thou his party was totally caught he did take some responsibility for his actions. It would be nice to see others do the same coughClintonscough. Side note: Nixons head appearances on futurama are great!Quote:
Originally Posted by caesar44
Not the bloody aristocracy and upper class. To a man like Beatty 'bloody' does signify his rather uncomfortable position.Quote:
Originally Posted by Emperor Umeu 1
It is funny, but in Denmark it used to like this too.
A soldier defending Copenhagen in 1807 against the British actually made a rather interesting, and very time-fitting, over-understatement (complex but I will try to explain).
He was in the elite volountary sharpshooter (they were actually civilians). In a sally his buddy got killed right beside him. Then in his fury he stood up, shook his fist at the knave that did it, then proceeded to shoot every single of his 30 rounds at him and finally calmly walked back to the city.
Sadly I can't translate it as a lot of the feeling gets lost in traslation (besides I haven't got the text).
The way it comes off is a sort of "Better than thou, but humble about it." When I read it I didn't know ifI should laugh, cry or be impressed. Then as I read on it turned out that that was the way people spoke, over-understatements.
Surprisingly I haven't seen this among others.
Men Kraxis, der er altid nogle der kan forstar lidt Dansk. Siger det om dansk! ~;)
Now let's hope my Danish still makes some sense...
Yet no one has... ~:handball:Quote:
Originally Posted by Louis IV the Fat
*ready to pop demi Moët et Chandon*
This is what pops up when you type "French Military Victory" into Google and hit "I'm Feeling Lucky"Quote:
Originally Posted by AdrianII
French Military History Humor
Google used to respond, "Did you mean 'French Military Defeats?'" and point to a different page with the same text. No, I'm not making that up.
Anyway, the link is quite ungenerous to the French, and takes some liberties, so don't take it too seriously. It is a funny way to look at history though. Enjoy.
I'll share a toast on it with you!Quote:
Originally Posted by AdrianII
And here's a glass of our finest champagne for you too! Straight from the freezer, American style! :balloon2:Quote:
Originally Posted by Red Harvest
At least they got the spelling right in that little piece. Gotta give credit where it is due.Quote:
Originally Posted by Louis IV the Fat
I know, I know. I do need to work on being humorous in English. When the phrasing is not exactly right, what's meant as funny provocating remarks comes off as pedantic and obnoxious.Quote:
Originally Posted by AdrianII
Yecckkkk. No, I very much appreciate French Champagne. Unfortunately, I admit to having a bit of trouble getting consistency from them...one bottle is heaven, the next is so-so. Spending so much for a mediocre or corked bottle on a special occasion leaves a very bad taste in my mouth (pun intended ~D ) I've actually had better luck with some Spanish brands and even Australian for about 1/5th the price, they can't reach the quality of good French Champagne but they have been more consistent, and they exceed the American ones I've tried (too acidic/tart, too woody, no subtlety or smoothness, etc.)Quote:
Originally Posted by Louis IV the Fat
Oh so true. Top quality wines are still from France, if only by definition - wines are great if they taste French. But below that, in every price range, you can get the same quality for half the price you would pay for French wine.
If you're not going for the very best (and who does all the time, let's not be snobbish) I'd skip French wine and go for any Southern Hemisphere one. Australian, South African and Chilean wines are fantastic value for money.
Oh, and that 'Straight from the freezer, American style' bit referred not to American champagne, I wouldn't wish that on anyone, but to champagne chilled in a freezer, the way some American restaurants serve it. http://www.my-smileys.de/smileys2/00009154.gif
Lethal to the aroma. Heresy when it involves a bottle of Moët et Chandon. Serving you a glass of it was meant as a severe and brutal punishment to get even for that link you provided. ~;)
Quote:
Originally Posted by ian_of_smeg16
Quote:
Originally Posted by caesar44
Understatement: is used to make something appear smaller or less important than it really is. It can be used to entertain or to reduce the importance of the truth.Quote:
Originally Posted by ian_of_smeg16
Quote:
Originally Posted by Grey_Fox
These are examples of "understatements".Quote:
Originally Posted by AdrianII
And I need to work on my tongue in cheek, apparently. My spelling remark was directed at the Americans who wrote that "joke" about French history, it was not directed at you at all. That's why I wrote "they", not "you".Quote:
Originally Posted by Louis IV the Fat
Your reply is a tribute to your modesty, though, and we can all learn from that.
:bow:
Louis, ked af det, men jeg har ikke teksten mere. I could only remember the general outline of it.
And wines? Well the growing line it going further and further north. The Italians and Spanish are having trouble keeping up the quality they have been able to keep the last 50 years. Now German and even British wines beginning to getthe better of them.
Personally I like Rieslings, but then again I always get pounding headaches of redwines (not whites though), so I can't comment on the reds.