Cultural Differences are cute

[UndertheOcean]

everyone here calls Clinton "Big Dog "...

In my culture calling someone a dog is one of the biggest insults you can say to anyone , up there with "whore" and "Ass"

[REP]

1. Clinton is called that in the US, where he lives; it's not an insult here

[timeforpeace]

2. We really like the guy. So what's your culture?

[Kurt_and_Hunter]

3. Are you a cat?

[UndertheOcean]

4. Har Har .... no ...

but cure response nevertheless

[HeresyLives]

6. It's not a compliment in Canada either.

Means something like a male whore, or slut. The 'big' doesn't help. LOL

I have no idea what it means in the US, but apparently it's not an insult.

Edit for sp.

[ddeclue]

5. It's "Dawg" not "Dog".. and I'm sure he's heard people call him those other names too.

:rofl:

[pitohui]

7. it's a southern thing, maybe you wouldn't understand

"if you can't run with the big dogs, stay on the porch!!!!!" :-)

it is not an insult, it expresses both admiration and respect for the individual, and it's a nod to alpha maleness/high achieving but in a way that it isn't showboating, in a real down to earth real person kinda way

not sure if i can put it in words v. well

"whore" and "ass" are people who sell themselves, people who embarrass themselves -- the big dog does neither of these things, the big dog is a leader not because he bought it and not because he blustered his way to it but because he EARNED it and his leadership is recognized

i'm confident he is honored to be known as "the big dog," it is meant to honor

[JuniperLea]

9. Well said...

:)

[Withywindle]

11. Yup, 100%

You're calling him the "Alpha" of the pack. Which he is.


To be fair, there are nuances, and there may well be an element of "dawg" in the "men are dogs" sense mixed in there too. But he's earned that one too. Atomic Dog. Bow wow wow yippi yo yippi yay.

[On the Road]

8. Is This a Part of Florida Culture?

:evilgrin:

[csziggy]

14. No, Florida culture calls our favored male politicians "he-coons"

That was the nickname for Lawton Chiles - one he used for himself during a debate with Jeb Bush. It's the same idea as "Big Dawg" in that a male raccoon is a very aggressive animal that usually comes out on top in any conflict.



If you want to read the book, it is posted here: http://www.lawtonchiles.org/cover.html

[JuniperLea]

10. Keep your pecker up!

My great-granny was from the south, and though I'm California born and raised, I still keep with some of the old ways she taught. Big Dog is definitely a term of endearment in my mind.

Language is interesting... if you ask to be knocked up in a hotel in England, you get a wake up call. If you ask the same thing in a California hotel, well, you know:) And if whilst in England you hear someone say "keep your pecker up" it means they should keep their chin up, or keep their spirits up. If you say that in California, you might get flashed:)

[virgogal]

12. It's like "Lighting a fag" in England. When my 14 year old grandaughter

first heard that she was horrified-----but we straightened that out.

It can be confusing,can't it?

[JuniperLea]

13. Indeed!

She may have been as horrified as I was when my aunt's British friend used the pecker line in front of me when I was 12 or so!

When I was a smoker, I used to say "where's me fags" all the time:) I can be real ornery:)

[virgogal]

17. Ornery is good. I tend to be feisty. :-)

[Quantess]

15. British people don't *really* say "lighting a fag" anymore, do they?

I know that "fanny" means female genitalia.

[virgogal]

16. Some of the oldtimers do,and of course it's in some books,

[provis99]

18. well, Clinton gets called the "Clenis", too.

Usually when liberals are mocking conservative obsessions with Clinton, though I've never heard a conservative used the term.

Other people call Clinton President Bubba, America's First Black President, and the Arkansas Peckerwood, all of them more or less insulting, yet used with fondness.

[NoSheep]

19. But I thought that's why he WAS called big dog? (Not the ass part)