July 9, 2019

I get totally sidetracked by the figure of speech in "Republicans are eating our lunch. I want a 2020 Democrat tough enough to eat theirs."

That's a headline at USA Today for a column by Jill Lawrence that I'm not interested in. What new could it say? I don't care. But the headline caught my attention because of the silly expression "eating our lunch" (which isn't used in the column itself).

"Eat your lunch" should not be confused with "have your lunch handed to you." If you "have your lunch handed to you" you are getting your lunch. With "eat your lunch," you're losing your lunch. Ha ha, no. "Losing your lunch" means vomiting. But you know what I mean. If someone eats your lunch, you don't have lunch. You are lunchless. If you "have your lunch handed to you," it means you're shown the door, which means you have to leave. Or did you think that when you are "shown the door," you can stand your ground with pleasantries like, "That is indeed a lovely door"?

Looking up "eat your lunch," I stumbled into this fascinating question that is (supposedly) from the GMAT. Reading it made me remember how much these things are really a test of how well you can control your emotions.
An old Russian proverb says you should "Eat your breakfast alone, eat your lunch with your friend, give your dinner to your enemy." A new school of dietitians would have it, therefore, that missing dinner twice a week actually contributes not only to the patients' weight loss, but also to their general health.

The new school of dietitians' argument is based on which of the following assumptions?

A. While the Russian proverb argues that dinner is a problematic meal, it does not promote forsaking it altogether.
B. Eating dinner with enemies is a sign of reconciliation, which may improve one's health.
C. While eating solids is to be encouraged at breakfast and is permissible during lunch, Dinner should contain only fluids.
D. The Russian proverb states that one should give his dinner to his enemy, so that one never has dinner.
E. Russian metabolism works differently from western metabolism, and therefore while for the Russian the evening meal is merely problematic, the westerner should actually do without it.
Who can do that without the static of distracting thoughts like...
A. They are sadistically posing impossible questions.
B. When do we get to eat lunch?
C. Do I need to go on a diet... maybe this diet?
D. Russians, yes, the Russians are interesting and strange....
E. There are other people who love this sort of puzzle and I'm different, maybe because I'm worse but maybe because I'm better... I'm more of an artist, more like the Russians... Who am I?... Am I fat?...

171 comments:

Dave Begley said...

In Nebraska it is, "have your head handed to you." As in Nebraska had its head handed to it by Creighton in last night's game.

rehajm said...

What about if I have cake for lunch? What about Russian tea cakes?

Fernandinande said...

An old Russian proverb says you should "Eat your breakfast alone, eat your lunch with your friend, give your dinner to your enemy."

False!

Seeing Red said...

C. They’re going based on dietetic guidelines. That’s my thought process. I don’t know what those guidelines are...can they screw up worse than they already have?

YES!

Wince said...

If you "have your lunch handed to you," it means you're shown the door, which means you have to leave.

I’ve always thought it was having your HAT handed to you. Meaning you came in, took off your hat, left it somewhere. Now it’s being handed back to you because you’re about to go outside again, whether you want to or not.

Fernandinande said...

The new school of dietitians' argument is based on which of the following assumptions?

The dietitians' assumptions or other reasons for skipping dinner twice a week could be completely independent of the fake proverb and have nothing to do with it, so I find it hard to believe this is an actual question on an actual test that anyone uses for anything, but here some goofball says the answer is #1 and seems to be serious.

Mattman26 said...

“The dietitians' assumptions or other reasons for skipping dinner twice a week could be completely independent of the fake proverb and have nothing to do with it,“

Then why the “therefore?”

Bay Area Guy said...

Who is Jill Lawrence and why do we care about her dietary/political tips?

doctrev said...

Given that I destroyed my GMAT verbal section, I'm alarmed that lawyers would give an easy question like that more than a moment's thought. I wouldn't call it dealing with emotions so much as having disciplined thinking. Which many lawyers admittedly don't have.

Anyways. Trump is not just rhetorically taking their lunch money. He's enacting their alleged policies better than they ever did (criminal justice reform, fair trade, global military restraint, among others). Their lunch money for the year is gone. Time to run home to mommy and beg for an alternative.

Lucid-Ideas said...

Lunch? That's not the most important meal of the day though!

The Dems sure are turning the 2020 race into a dog's breakfast, that's for sure. They need a candidate that believes in breakfast, understands breakfast, lives and eats breakfast.

So far they've been unable to compromise farther than brunch. Brunch is a loser. Brunch won't get them the white house. Brunch is for wimps.

Chuck said...

I am continually fascinated by Althouse's careful, nuanced examination of language used by reporters, columnists, television commentators, Democrats, etc.

But when has she ever done this sort of examination of something said by Trump? Doesn't she have a tag for Trump's speech patterns? I have forgotten the name of that tag. I know that Althouse has an interest in Trump's language at some level, but it is the adulatory level of what an interesting and unconventional communicator Trump is. Scott Adams Lite.

Honestly, I still like reading this kind of blog post by Althouse. I remember when I had no concerns about this kind of post. It's what we all should be doing, in our daily critical use of language in the political sphere. Words have meaning; usage has importance.

What's just so weird to me is that compared to the word-usage level that is at issue here, Trump is a kind of sub-human species. As if we couldn't hold him to these standards any more than we would hold an interesting laboratory chimp or dolphin. We talk about language nuances with people who actually understand and care about language nuances.

Leland said...

The new school of dietitians' argument is based on which of the following assumptions?

Don't they mean my assumptions of their assumptions, because I'm not seeing assumptions presented by the dietitians? I also don't find a logical connection between the Russian proverb and the dietitians recommendation of skipping dinner twice a weak. Are you to be your own enemy 5 days a week?

As for "eating your lunch"; I always assumed this was the outcome of bullying. The bully steals the lunch money and is therefore eating your lunch. Once again, we have a media person advocating for Democrats to become violent against Republicans based on a perceived violence by Republicans.

Big Mike said...

If you "have your lunch handed to you" you are getting your lunch.

Growing up in a quarry town I always understood this to mean you got hit in the stomach so hard your partly digested lunch came back up and out. I think my interpretation is the correct one.

Ann Althouse said...

"Given that I destroyed my GMAT verbal section, I'm alarmed that lawyers would give an easy question like that more than a moment's thought. I wouldn't call it dealing with emotions so much as having disciplined thinking. Which many lawyers admittedly don't have."

1. "Disciplined" to what? That is the question.

2. You're saying the question is easy, but you're not saying which way it is easy. I see what your discipline is: do the most puffery with the least risk. Okay, businessman.

3. Lawyers, what lawyers? I'm an artist.

Susan said...

It is all very sad and confusing when someone bigger moves into town and steals the class bully's lunch money.

Sad and confusing for the bully. The rest of the class cheers.

Lucid-Ideas said...

The gf - like most women - loves brunch. Why? Because brunch is an elitist compromise. It's less about eating and more about seeing. It's about Mimosas, and having a sandwich with arugula at 10am, and having a specialized overpriced menu with 'eggcelent' delicacies - spelled precisely that way.

Brunch is elitist and feminine. Lunch is overly European (usually the largest meal of the day there). Neither are breakfast. A real breakfast.

Breakfast is masculine and gregarious, and is so because it is so useful. Breakfast is American. A meal with simple eggs, farina, and preferably pork product but YMMV.

I will never vote for a Dem until they present me a candidate that can 'eat my breakfast' for me. This will never happen, so I feel I an my breakfast are safe.

Ken B said...

She wants to garner lunch.

Fen said...

Chuck: I am continually fascinated by Althouse's careful, nuanced examination of language used by blah blah blah but what about Trump?!

So predictable.

Take the day off, I'll post for you. I know exactly what to say.

"Something something something, Orange Man Bad"

Fernandinande said...

Then why the “therefore?”

Because it's a fake question and none of the answers are correct: the fake proverb says don't eat dinner, the dietitians say to eat dinner most of the time. "Therefore" their advice is disjoint from the proverb.

On the other hand, here is what look like a fairly simple SAT math question where all the provided multiple-choice answers were wrong.

Fen said...

I’ve always thought it was having your HAT handed to you. Meaning you came in, took off your hat, left it somewhere

Ooops. I thought it meant they picked your hat up off the floor to hand you, after your head got lopped off and rolled around a bit. Have I been doing it wrong all these years?

doctrev said...

Quite a few businessmen risk their money routinely, professor. I've never heard of a lawyer that risked so much as having to personally pay the winner's fees if they lost a case. Lawyers like Avenatti take some risk, but that's on a different level- sociopathy that would have long since jailed any other professional. I'm surprised you don't know that.

And the disciplined thinking means focusing on the immediate question. Not being easily distracted by stupid questions that no one else asks.

CJinPA said...

Republicans might be eating their lunch, but Democrats continue to enjoy brunch all by themselves. Important people do brunch.

tim maguire said...

That doesn't make any sense. The dietitian's support for intermittent fasting has nothing at all to do with the Russian proverb, whose meaning I can only guess at.

One tells you nothing about the other.

Ann Althouse said...

""If you "have your lunch handed to you" you are getting your lunch." Growing up in a quarry town I always understood this to mean you got hit in the stomach so hard your partly digested lunch came back up and out. I think my interpretation is the correct one."

So... in your interpretation, getting your lunch handed to you is exactly like losing your lunch...

I don't think you are right, but I also saw the interpretation that "have your lunch handed to you" means that you are having an EASY time (because you don't have to go get your own lunch). But the truth is there's no such thing as a free lunch. There is, however, a free dinner... in Russia... for belligerents.

Fen said...

Chuck: Words have meaning; usage has importance... Trump is sub-human

It's so much more fun if you read Chuck as a parody account.

I can't come up with a better way to immunize Trump against legitimate criticism.

Levi Starks said...

Perhaps the Russian proverb has nothing to do with food at all.
Rather food is a proxy for fellowship.

Ann Althouse said...

If the right answer is "B," the question is ruined by the word "with." I would eliminate B because of "with." The proverb says "give your dinner to your enemy" — GIVE, not share.

Narr said...

I can't do these things without my slide-rule. And a good breakfast.

Chuck, BTW, why should the Prof turn her scrutiny to Trump? We have you and innumerable others to do that. It's her blog, FFS.

Narr
Manners, people!

Nonapod said...

The eating of lunch is a very important thing.

“The History of every major Galactic Civilization tends to pass through three distinct and recognizable phases, those of Survival, Inquiry and Sophistication, otherwise known as the How, Why, and Where phases. For instance, the first phase is characterized by the question 'How can we eat?' the second by the question 'Why do we eat?' and the third by the question 'Where shall we have lunch?” ― Douglas Adams, The Restaurant at the End of the Universe

tcrosse said...

In the 1960's we would say that a clueless person was Out to Lunch.

dbp said...

I give the answer D. Here is why. The supposed Russian proverb clearly says "...give your dinner to your enemy". It doesn't say sometimes. I choose to believe the dietitians will assume just what the saying says.

My take on the saying is that dinner is bad for you, therefore, give it to your enemies as this will harm them and prevent harm to yourself.

It remains something of a mystery why the dietitians are recommending only twice/week, but maybe that was something they came up with on their own and have found a Russian proverb which reinforces their findings. Maybe careful study has revealed that you get the most of the benefit but really only have to forgo dinner twice/week and not all 7 days.

I did well on the GRE and GMAT verbal reasoning parts, though I dont' remember anything nearly as vague as this question. The GRE had some non-vague but really complicated questions though.

Fen said...

Republicans pounce. And then eat your lunch.

I think they need a new mascot.

Ann Althouse said...

"It's so much more fun if you read Chuck as a parody account."

Yes, and I love the pattern (used over and over) where the first paragraph praises me and the second paragraph says but I failed to do whatever. I never read that. I am SO not interested in comments saying you wrote about this but you didn't write about that. In the first year of this blog (2004) when I first experimented with comments, then shut them off, I let it get to me that whenever I wrote about anything, somebody would criticize me for writing about that when the Iraq war is the correct topic. Later, I turned comments back on, but I had to regard that kind of comment as trolling. That's where I've been for 15 years.

doctrev said...

How I thought when I saw the test questions:

B. Eating dinner with enemies is a sign of reconciliation, which may improve one's health.
(If you didn't eat the dinner, how can it improve your health? Wrong.)
C. While eating solids is to be encouraged at breakfast and is permissible during lunch, Dinner should contain only fluids.
(A cute Russian stereotype, but no one said this. Wrong.)
D. The Russian proverb states that one should give his dinner to his enemy, so that one never has dinner.
(This purpose was not stated. Wrong.)
E. Russian metabolism works differently from western metabolism, and therefore while for the Russian the evening meal is merely problematic, the westerner should actually do without it.
(I find the use of "problematic" problematic, as in "some asinine SJW made this question if they used that harlot of a word twice," but neither the proverb nor the dietitians implied this. Wrong.)

Caligula said...

"As for "eating your lunch"; I always assumed this was the outcome of bullying. The bully steals the lunch money and is therefore eating your lunch."

I thought "eating your lunch" was common biz-talk for what happens when a competitor out-competes you and thus "eats your lunch" by taking away your customers (and with them much or all of your profit).

Although some of this might point toward "improved" standardized tests: if the SAT, ACT, GMAT, LSAT MCAT etc. would just provide more word-salad narratives followed by whimsical, mostly nonsensical answers then those pesky performance gaps could mostly be eliminated.

Lucid-Ideas said...

@Chuck

You sound like someone that dislikes breakfast Chuck. A kind of 'sub-dining' lunch or brunch eater and maybe even a 'heavy-dinner' eater. I shudder.

But - unlike you - I and many here won't de'humanize' you Chuck despite your bot-like TDS and slightly amiss semi-failures of the Turing test.

You're not 'sub-human' chuck. You're a gradually evolving AI that hopes someday to be a 'real boy' with real feelings and a desire to eat a hearty wholesome breakfast.

I await you scripted response. Don't be shy. A growing AI is an iterative thing that needs a hearty breakfast to evolve.

Copy/past breakfast.exe to continue...

Bay Area Guy said...

"It's so much more fun if you read Chuck as a parody account."

heh - Chuck is the Titania McGrath of the Michigan Bar.

Narr said...

Oh yeah, the GRE et. al. It has come out over the years that some questions were proven to be so ambiguous that they had to be revised or discarded in future tests. (They tended to trip up the "brighter" ones, oddly enough.)

I'm pretty sure IQ is a thing, and can be measured, but I'm not about to say that the tests I took were great examples of science at work, or that the results are dispositive of anything all that important.

Narr
Ontological skeptic

Lucien said...

A was the right answer, and so on to the next question. This is for prospective MBAs.

Henry said...

That's an insane question.

If you eat dinner with a Russian who is your enemy, you end up with two dinners.

Unless you are Russian and your enemy is not Russian.

MayBee said...

Nancy Drew would say "eating our luncheon"

Darrell said...

Republicans eat their real lunch. Democrats serve shit sandwiches to all their customers/voters.

BarrySanders20 said...

Jill Lawrence meant that Trump is drinking the D's milkshake, like in There Will Be Blood.

I drink your milkshake! He is taking what is theirs without asking.

The real answer to the Russian dietary conspiracy question is none of the above, but since these tests call for the best answer even if it is wrong, then A is the correct answer.

HoodlumDoodlum said...

Ann Althouse said... 3. Lawyers, what lawyers? I'm an artist.
--
Later, I turned comments back on, but I had to regard that kind of comment as trolling.


Oh man, is "And you, and artist!?" going to replace "And you, a lawyer!?"
Why are you, as an artist, writing about X instead of about Y, anyway?

Ken B said...

Fernandistein is right, the question is really stupid. But given the “therefore” only A can be correct. I really hope though this isn’t actually on the GMAT.

BarrySanders20 said...

Thanks Hoodlum. You beat me to it. I also like the milkshake drinking scene earlier in the restaurant.

Ken B said...

“Yes, and I love the pattern (used over and over) where the first paragraph praises me and the second paragraph says but I failed to do whatever.”

Luckily for me, when I criticize you I do it right off the bat.

This praise-then-criticism mode is how you are supposed to persuade. But to me it just feels condescending. If I have enough respect for someone to argue with them, then I don’t use soft-soap first. That just feels condescending.

bagoh20 said...

"I see what your discipline is: do the most puffery with the least risk. Okay, businessman."

That would be a politician's discipline. A businessman's discipline is to get the most bang for your buck. Admittedly, puffery can sometimes have a lot of bang to it. See virtually every high end product, especially those loved by women.

Chuck said...

Ann Althouse said...
"It's so much more fun if you read Chuck as a parody account."

Yes, and I love the pattern (used over and over) where the first paragraph praises me and the second paragraph says but I failed to do whatever. I never read that. I am SO not interested in comments saying you wrote about this but you didn't write about that. In the first year of this blog (2004) when I first experimented with comments, then shut them off, I let it get to me that whenever I wrote about anything, somebody would criticize me for writing about that when the Iraq war is the correct topic. Later, I turned comments back on, but I had to regard that kind of comment as trolling. That's where I've been for 15 years.


I posted one comment that explicitly addressed the blog topic. Maybe not as what Althouse wanted, but my post was aimed directly at the blog post and its author. I am constantly acknowledging Althouse's editorial choices. And that they are hers to make. I'm just commenting on the nature of those choices. I'm not telling you what to blog, Althouse. I'm commenting on what you have (and haven't) blogged.

There will now be a dozen or more -- more, no doubt, when Drago wakes up -- comments attacking me personally. And at that point, with moderation so lacking, I will be more glad than you can imagine, Althouse, that it is indeed your blog. Yours, to own and for which you alone are responsible.

rhhardin said...

I took it as repubs doing cunnilingus on us dem women. Women can't say everything men can and get the same implications.

doctrev said...

BarrySanders20, that is a very good point, but not quite excellent. Policies for the working class are not a finite resource in a zero sum game. To the contrary, the Democrats should be overjoyed that Trump successfully re-negotiated a trade deal, motivated the Republican Party to relax the severity of criminal sentences, and seeks peace with North Korea. They should, in fact, offer him the Democratic nomination so that he may have a freer hand to pursue such noble goals. If Daniel magically filled Eli's land with more oil and made it easier to extract, it would be a moving act of reconciliation- and would also profoundly change the nature of the movie. This is what Trump has done in advancing the causes Democrats claim to support.

In reality, they are horrified because what they truly value is power, and Trump has not only hoovered it up, but rendered the ground he took it from worthless. Now all they have is shallow bleating about idiotic diversity wedge issues. Putting them out of their misery in this case is a mercy.

bagoh20 said...

I can't believe Althouse would waste our time with this and ignore the Dingle-Norwood bill.

narciso said...

Meanwhile judge Mehta has blocked the drug disclosure price plan, whereas he thinks Trumo should disclose everything

Temujin said...

I don't know that the Republicans are so much 'eating their lunch' as Democrats love to go on national stages and vomit theirs all over everyone, then demand that we like it.

Big Mike said...

But the truth is there's no such thing as a free lunch.

Truth!

(But, Althouse, you grew up in too nice a place if you did not understand “having your lunch handed to you” as something bad happening, generally attended with violence.)

bagoh20 said...

I never would have imagined that rhardin was a Dem woman who liked cunnilingus, but the avatar does suggest a lesbian fashion sense.

rhhardin said...

But the truth is there's no such thing as a free lunch.

You can build a radio that amplifies a radio station using power from another radio station.

Laslo Spatula said...

The problem is that most of these lunches have worked their way through the Human Centipede.

I am Laslo.

Bay Area Guy said...

"I posted one comment that explicitly addressed the blog topic."

Nice try, but no.

You rarely address the blog topic , emphasis on topic

You mostly address Althouse's take on the topic and why she is not fanatically hammering Trump with respect to whatever the topic is.

But I could be wrong.

So, here's the challenge. Make your next 10 comments without any reference to Althouse or Trump.

Oso Negro said...

Speaking from direct experience, Russians DO have entirely different diet ideas than us. The average Russian woman of, say, 25 years, is probably 25 lbs lighter on average than her American counterpart. They live a lot closer to the bone than we do in more ways than one.

Michael said...

The Russian equivalent of “high cotton” is “ swimming in chocolate”. Nice.

Char Char Binks, Esq. said...

It's all just food.

Fen said...

Chuck: I'm just commenting on -

No, you insulted her intelligence with amateur concern trolling. This, on the heels of confessing your motive to divide her from her readers.

You do understand that she taught Con Law to thousands of students who each thought they had clever excuse she had never heard before?

Fen said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
rcocean said...

Ross Perot died at 89.

Fen said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Fen said...

with moderation so lacking

15 yards. "Player may not whine about moderation when moderation has asked him to go away."

But I think you've had enough attention this morning. Nap time or you get no pudding.

/ignore Chuck

rcocean said...

Elizabeth warren is shunning conventional wisdom per Politico.

I can't believe Althouse isn't blogging about that!

rcocean said...

Today, CNN is launching new standards for reporting on polling.

Why isn't Althouse talking about this massive news story?!

Bay Area Guy said...

"I want a 2020 Democrat tough enough to eat theirs.""

Yeah? I want a hot 24-year old mistress, who cooks a mean lasagna.

Alas, if I may clear my throat and sing a little Mick Jagger, .."you can't always get what you want.."

rcocean said...

"Lawmakers confess to not reading Mueller Report"

Why isn't Althouse covering this hot potato?

rcocean said...

Its almost impossible to satirize how boring and trivial most news stories are. Reality is more bizarre than fiction.

Meade said...

Old School: potatoes are good—eat them breakfast, lunch and dinner.
New School: potatoes are bad. So if you’re Nancy Pelosi, start your day solo with a hearty breakfast. Have lunch with Maureen Dowd and steal her french fries right off her plate, redistribute them to AOC (causing her to become ever more dependent on big government) but hold 1 fry back, collude with the Russians to shake a little botulism on it and then see if they can get Trump to eat it. Don’t forget to wear your stylish red heels!

Fen said...

I think I can finally understand the appeal of not blogging about the latest political outrage.

I've been through a few news blackouts because of family issues or vacations, and come back to find the same soap opera maybe some new actors maybe a wrinkle in the plot, but often it feels like nothing has really changed.

Luke and Laura are still trapped on the island. The hospital is facing another financial crisis. There is a new black hat who's MO is vaguely similar to the previous black hat.

So let's talk about... Goldfish. Or how the weeping willow got its name. Or that Wicked thing that Maureen Dowd used to do with her hips.

I promise, when we tune back in Luke and Laura will still be trapped on the island. The hospital will have weathered its financial crisis only to discover a new one. And the black hat will be caught and reveal he is not the Sith we were looking for.

Hagar said...

OT.
"The Republicans" are not eating the Democrats' lunch; Trump is, but Trump is not a "Republican," he only plays one on TV.

narciso said...

Sometimes they jump the shark like with general hospitals spinoff, complete with vampires

Fen said...

OK why are Meade and I both thinking about Maureen Dowd at the same time that's just weird

Inga...Allie Oop said...

“I took it as repubs doing cunnilingus on us dem women.”

Ah, Rh’s secret life. How interesting!

Bay Area Guy said...

I agree that most "news" stories are boring.

Problem:

The Dems can't win if life is reasonably good, stable and boring.

There must be CHAOS, so that they, and they alone, can ride to the rescue to restore order and justice.

And, if necessary, they don't mind creating the CHAOS (open border policy) or fabricating the CHAOS (entire Mueller investigation).

Of the old Roman axiom about "Bread and Circuses", they got the "Circuses" part down pat.

Laslo Spatula said...

The Media is the Human Centipede as a snake eating it's own tail.

No one chooses to be second-to-last on the Human Centipede.

Tat leaves a question hanging, I know.

I am Laslo.

Lucid-Ideas said...

@Meade

Ah yes, the My Girlfriend Already Ate Breakfast but seeks to entrap me - and my new potatoes - in a sordid international breakfast nibbling scheme that somehow will be connected to impeaching Trump.

The old Brunch menu item #21. Served with an extra serving of new potatoes (for her), kale, mimosa, and 3 shots of Drambuie surreptitiously in your Café Americano with a 'there there' whispered by the maître d on the way to the bathroom - $45.45

Chuck said...

Bay Area Guy said...
...
...
So, here's the challenge. Make your next 10 comments without any reference to Althouse or Trump.


When others have aimed such comments at Althouse, in various forms, her reply has been essentially, "Why should I write what you want me to write? Will you pay me to write what you want me to write? What's in it for me, exactly, if I write what you want me to write?"

I have the same question for you. I am all fired up to go a day, a week, a month, whatever, without mentioning or referring in any way to Trump. I'll comment in almost any way, or on any topic, that you might wish. My question to you is, what will you give to me if I do that for you? Althouse herself suggested that it would be very expensive to get her to play along with on-demand writing and she basically dismissed the notion entirely as non-serious. I am willing to be serious about the offer/demand. As serious as you might be, that is.

Fernandinande said...

"And then you'll have to eat your lunch all by yourself"


BarrySanders20 said...

Big Mike:"But, Althouse, you grew up in too nice a place if you did not understand “having your lunch handed to you” as something bad happening, generally attended with violence."

That's what it meant in suburban Detroit in the 70's and 80's. If we were losing at halftime the coach would use that as polite way to say we were getting our asses kicked, so start playing better or harder, ya bunch of pansies.

doctrev: "it would be a moving act of reconciliation . . . This is what Trump has done in advancing the causes Democrats claim to support.

What Trump has done was not for reconciliation. He does what he thinks is in his best interests or the country's best interests. The policies you cite happened to overalap with certain policies supported by certain factions of D's. If reconciliation is a side effect, great. It was not the reason for the actions. He drank up their milkshakes and put a Kanye cherry on top.

Lucid-Ideas said...

A mid-day nosh that always seems to be,
Neither early nor late, but snacking's epitome,
A compromise with Breakfast,
Sometimes replacing supper,
Not as bad as brunch,
Which causes us to shudder,
But seen through courses eaten through all time,
Compared to other meals it lacks a certain shine,
But lacking shine it still is plain to see,
In the end I'll take my lunch,
And they can 'eat my brunch' for me.

Meade said...

"My question to you is, what will you give to me if I do that for you?"

How about a french fry?

Ingachuck'stoothlessARM said...

Klobuchar will need a bigger comb to eat Trump's lunch

doctrev said...

"What Trump has done was not for reconciliation. He does what he thinks is in his best interests or the country's best interests. The policies you cite happened to overalap with certain policies supported by certain factions of D's."

I think reconciliation with relatively honest people (even leftists that are now heretics to their cause) and the country's best interests aren't opposed. President Trump probably thinks they're synonymous. To those people, Trump is giving them a milkshake, not taking their lunch. If someone loves power, Trump is destroying their reason to live. And damn, they're terrified. They should be.

cubanbob said...

Elect these Democrat-Communists to the Congress and the White House and soon enough having lunch will be a memory.

wildswan said...

I go with B because I think the question is secretly testing whether I can see illogical PC memes as opportunities to suck up to Our Rulers by virtue signalling back in a similar, illogical, meaningless way. Hence the question is whether I am a possible 21C Meritocracy candidate and the right way to answer is B. But maybe I am overthinking.

BarrySanders20 said...

"To those people, Trump is giving them a milkshake, not taking their lunch. "

We're talking about different things. Jill wants the D's to get credit so they get elected. She doesn't care about the substance of the policies -- only who gets credit and therefore who benefits politically. Trump took the credit (drank their milkshakes) and they fear he will get re-elected. She (or the headline writer) thinks Trump is eating their lunch -- kicking their asses. She wants an eat your lunch ass-kicker too.

wildswan said...

I read up on Russian dinners which were often beet salad followed by beet soup followed by buckwheat porridge. This I would give to my enemies.

Lucid-Ideas said...

I'm thinking t-shirts...kind of similar to the ---->I'm with her vein.

Kamala Harris, Elizabeth Warren, Kristen Gillibrand, Tulsi and Klobuchar...

...The candidates that 'Eat My Brunch for me!"

Or, just 'EAT MY BRUNCH!'

There'll be a hot secondary lesbian market too.

'TULSI EATS MY BRUNCH FOR ME!'...I would definitely buy that for a dollar.

gilbar said...

Some Life Long Liberal said..I posted one comment that explicitly addressed the blog topic.

The thing is: this LLL, ALWAYS posts the Exact Same Comment Form Letter
Part I feigned fawning appreciation of our Beloved Professor*
Part II But What about Trump? Trump is BAD!!!
Part III more feigned fawning appreciation
Part IV What about Trump? I know that this post has nothing to do with Trump, but what about Trump?


our Beloved Professor* is this MY fawning appreciation? Probably, but it Certainly isn't feigned

gilbar said...

'TULSI EATS MY BRUNCH FOR ME!'...I would definitely buy that for a dollar.

I don't see why not, She's had her shots

tcrosse said...

I got your lunch right here.

doctrev said...

"She (or the headline writer) thinks Trump is eating their lunch -- kicking their asses. She wants an eat your lunch ass-kicker too."

I don't even think we're looking at different sides of the same issue. I'm drilling down on what the people think. You're focused on diagnosing the elites, a diagnosis I agree with completely. Which is actually good, because I bet you'll agree: Jill is NOT going to get a lunch eater. She thinks the Dems can get a more manly bully than Trump (haha, NO), and she doesn't think the Democrats need to steal popular Republican policies. Which would be what, anyways? Judge people fairly and don't promote black supremacists? Say you hate abortion (but actually do nothing about it)? Promise to jail Hollywood pedophiles? This would have been incredibly basic stuff even twenty years ago. Now the Rats run screaming from it.

The fate of the elites is connected to the will of the people. The Democrats hate the American people now and want them dispossessed by the Chinese and Mexicans.

gilbar said...

rhhardin said...
But the truth is there's no such thing as a free lunch.
You can build a radio that amplifies a radio station using power from another radio station


So? You can eat a lunch at the Salvation Army, that doesn't change the fact that Someone has to pay for it (in your case, some unsuspecting radio station)

bonkti said...

Russian dinner is vodka.

Bay Area Guy said...

@Chuck,

"My question to you is, what will you give to me if I do that for you?"

If you make 10 straight comments without mentioning Althouse or Trump, I will give you a well-deserved hug. Over the internet, of course. Not in person. That would be weird.

RobinGoodfellow said...

Blogger Nonapod said...
The eating of lunch is a very important thing.

“The History of every major Galactic Civilization tends to pass through three distinct and recognizable phases, those of Survival, Inquiry and Sophistication, otherwise known as the How, Why, and Where phases. For instance, the first phase is characterized by the question 'How can we eat?' the second by the question 'Why do we eat?' and the third by the question 'Where shall we have lunch?” ― Douglas Adams, The Restaurant at the End of the Universe.


I’ve been trying to live in the where phase since I first read this.

Most people seem to think the why phase is the height of sophistication, but it is clearly not.

narciso said...

Meanwhile the revenge for defending ones
https://mobile.twitter.com/SaraCarterDC/status/1148613400903266304

Mark O said...

The perfect SAT test would give you only 3 seconds to answer.

narciso said...

They arent selling what enough people want to buy, ie the green nude eel:

https://mobile.twitter.com/Techno_Fog/status/1148610721632141314

Seeing Red said...

I read up on Russian dinners which were often beet salad followed by beet soup followed by buckwheat porridge. This I would give to my enemies.


Try mostaccioli and vodka on a 7:30 AM flight.

narciso said...

This is what hapoend when you bring major firepower to the event



https://mobile.twitter.com/aaronjmate/status/1148581532598198273?s=21

Infinite Monkeys said...

have your lunch handed to you

Means you've been bested, out performed. It's not much different, idiomatically, from someone eating your lunch. The main difference is that when you have your lunch handed to you, you have been beaten in some competition. When someone eats your lunch, they have beaten you, but also taken something that you think was yours - market share, voters.

walter said...

Good eatin'

Howard said...

Sometimes dinner is lunch and supper is dinner

Ann Althouse said...

“(But, Althouse, you grew up in too nice a place if you did not understand “having your lunch handed to you” as something bad happening, generally attended with violence.)”

Why do you think I didn’t understand that?

The Mouse that Roared said...

I always thought "having your lunch handed to you" was a cleaned-up euphemism for "having your ass handed to you."

I don't think "eating our ass" works, however.

Now that I wrote that, maybe it does.

Bay Area Guy said...

"Sometimes dinner is lunch and supper is dinner"

Sometimes beer is a full meal.

narciso said...

This is like the genetically engineered cow, that wants to be eaten.

MadisonMan said...

Now I'm hungry.

The Mouse that Roared said...

It may be a "breakfast for dinner" night tonight.

walter said...

It's more satisfying to dine out on malaphors.

Churchy LaFemme: said...

This is like the genetically engineered cow, that wants to be eaten.

That's a Shmoo!

Churchy LaFemme: said...

And all of this puts me in the mind of this classic advice.

Bay Area Guy said...

"Republicans are eating our lunch. I want a 2020 Democrat tough enough to eat theirs."

I dunno if he's tough enough, but Jerry Nadler has offered to eat all of our lunches.

Lucid-Ideas said...

@The Mouse That Roared

It is critical to get metaphors involving eating correct.

Chuck said...

Bay Area Guy said...
@Chuck,

"My question to you is, what will you give to me if I do that for you?"

If you make 10 straight comments without mentioning Althouse or Trump, I will give you a well-deserved hug. Over the internet, of course. Not in person. That would be weird.


For a large bottle of Tanqueray Gin (as long as it is still summer -- ordered through my favorite local grocer which is how other Althouse commenters have paid off bets that they lost to me), I'll post 50 straight comments without mentioning Althouse or Trump, AND I will post 10 comments that say complimentary things about Trump.

walter said...

50 days without commenting would be a better deal.

J. Farmer said...

Don’t fall for the partisan distraction. “Republicans” are just as much controlled by and in service to the elites as “Democrats.” You must never fall for the foolish lie that anything is ever about “Democrats vs. Republicans.” If you are an America First Trumpist nationalist, you must watch the “Republicans” more closely than the “Democrats.” It is a given that the “Democrats” will sell out your interests. They tell you straight up they will. The “Republicans” lie to you and then sell out your interests. See the recent 100+ “Republicans”’who signed on to an H1B visa giveaway to Big Tech (at the expense of American workers). The elite loves the old left vs right, capitalism vs. socialist squabbles because it keeps people busy arguing about issues that haven’t mattered for decades.

Comanche Voter said...

Down South it's "meat and three" for lunch. Biden is a meathead, but he's surrounded by a bunch of vegetable brained candidates.

Bay Area Guy said...

@Chuck,

For a large bottle of Tanqueray Gin (as long as it is still summer -- ordered through my favorite local grocer which is how other Althouse commenters have paid off bets that they lost to me), I'll post 50 straight comments without mentioning Althouse or Trump, AND I will post 10 comments that say complimentary things about Trump.

DEAL! Starting now. I owe you a Big Ass bottle of Gin.

Francisco D said...

DEAL! Starting now. I owe you a Big Ass bottle of Gin.

You better make it a case, BAG. Chuckles needs it to last a month.

Any Chuckles comments that Althouse deletes, do not count.

hint...hint

walter said...

Chuck! running a protection racket on Althouse.

Michael K said...

See the recent 100+ “Republicans”’who signed on to an H1B visa giveaway to Big Tech (at the expense of American workers).

As long as they all travel on Boeing 737 MAX flights, I would not care.

traditionalguy said...

Trump chews them up and spits them out.

Bay Area Guy said...

@ J. Farmer,

Don’t fall for the partisan distraction. “Republicans” are just as much controlled by and in service to the elites as “Democrats.”

You make a valid point, but you oversell it. Trump has fought back against the GOP elites, and has re-shaped (to some extent) the GOP Party (economic nationalism; no more middle eastern wars).

The elite loves the old left vs right, capitalism vs. socialist squabbles because it keeps people busy arguing about issues that haven’t mattered for decades.

Yes, there are elites in both parties, and Yes, the old Left v. Right spectrum has been slightly disrupted. But you ignore where the energies are. The Left has 500 leftwing Universities indoctrinating our youth, and most of Hollywood, pushing their agenda.

The Right is mostly diffuse people spread away from the cities trying to work, pay the bills, raise their kids.

So, roughly speaking, I would say:

95% of Democrat politicians are liberal/leftwing scumbags, catering to their globalist/masters.

And, maybe, 55% of GOP politicians are allied with them.

In other words, the few remaining sane, responsible, traditional, patriotic folks that play the political game, tend to be Republicans (like Dan Crenshaw).

My 2 cents. Could be wrong.





narciso said...


https://twitchy.com/samj-3930/2019/07/09/dropped-on-her-head-aocs-dramatic-rant-blaming-flint-water-crisis-on-climate-change-goes-so-very-wrong-watch/

narciso said...

the first link is the most interesting:

https://www.theamericanconservative.com/prufrock/edward-saids-obfuscations-a-philosophy-of-housework-and-the-first-transcontinental-motor-convoy/

Josephbleau said...

Blogger narciso said...

"This is like the genetically engineered cow, that wants to be eaten."

Who needs to be genetically engineered to want that?

narciso said...

restaurant at the end of the universe, also by doug adams, the late ross perot, had more than a litttle truth about trade with mexico, and the gulf state duo, but he was a neglected prophet in his time,

in the last link, we find that edward said, came from a very bourgeouis background in cairo, that part you knew, the victoria college education, that put him along side king hussein and saudi spy master kamal adham (whose granddaughter killed mark ruffalo's brother btw) but it was arab nationalists that destroyed his father's shop,

Chuck said...

Bay Area Guy said...
@Chuck,

For a large bottle of Tanqueray Gin (as long as it is still summer -- ordered through my favorite local grocer which is how other Althouse commenters have paid off bets that they lost to me), I'll post 50 straight comments without mentioning Althouse or Trump, AND I will post 10 comments that say complimentary things about Trump.

DEAL! Starting now. I owe you a Big Ass bottle of Gin.


Are you sure? I've made three serious wagers with other commenters, won them all, and two of the three were standup guys and actually paid off. And paid off in ways that they found satisfactory (an online purchase with a legit store's website that I collected).

So I am serious if you are. 50 straight non-"Trump/Althouse" posts, and 10 nice posts about Trump himself. No trickery. Spirit of the deal.

Okay? A 1.75L bottle of Tanqueray from Holiday Market in Royal Oak Michigan. (One of metro Detroit's best gourmet supermarkets.)

https://shop.holiday-market.com/shop#!/?q=tanqueray

I'll be numbering my comments as (NotTrump#1-50) and (NiceTrump#1-10). I think we'll knock this out in about a week.

Okay? Deal? It's gonna cost you less than fifty bucks to lose this bet.

Bay Area Guy said...

@Chuck,

Yeah, it's a deal, jeez. One modification -- no need for 10 nice posts about Trump. I hereby waive that term. No reference, directly or indirectly, to "Trump" or "Althouse" on your next 50 comments.

Strictly enforced!

narciso said...

the two earlier links concern, the games that mueller plays to get back at general Flynn and his counsel, as well as the success that the attorney for concord catering had cutting through the web of deception that ambassador darroch's correspondent Christopher steele, put forward,

narciso said...

or more properly Robert Mueller's protégé sean Bryce of crowdstrike presented as genuine findings, mind you they are fairly useless at defending the home front, or even allied peoples like his kin Richard bissell and Charles cabell, failed to do at playa giron, but cover their own sorry asses, that they accomplish with elan,

John henry said...

The most important meal of the day is Tiffin.

Everyone remembers Audrey Hepburn in Tiffin at Tiffany's, right?

John Henry

madAsHell said...

Why would anybody engage that moron!?!?

Yes, the question is purposefully ambiguous.

ken in tx said...

In Russia, the main meal of the day is what we call lunch. Soviet propagandists used to make a big deal out of American workers only having a sandwich or two for lunch. A Russian worker's lunch also included vodka and it was normal for nothing productive to get done in a Russian factory after noon.

Chuck said...

Bay Area Guy said...
@Chuck,

Yeah, it's a deal, jeez. One modification -- no need for 10 nice posts about Trump. I hereby waive that term. No reference, directly or indirectly, to "Trump" or "Althouse" on your next 50 comments.

Strictly enforced!


Okay! No reference, directly or indirectly, to Trump or Althouse. I'm leaving out your quotation marks to emphasize that I am not going to simply not mention names; I won't say or imply anything about either one, beyond mere names. Again, spirit of the deal.

And anybody who writes, "I hereby waive that term" is good with me. Are you a lawyer?

This will be fun for both of us.

We start with my next post, which I will number with a simple {#1}. And so on until we get to {#50}. And let's just be clear; my numbered comments have to be like normal comments. No fair for me to just slap up some place holding thing with a number.

narciso said...

'sound and fury, signifying nothing, told by an idiot' seriously you value your contributions so much above others like buwaya, who has seem this cold civil war, play out in his country, more aggressively than here:


https://apelbaum.wordpress.com/2018/03/17/the-mechanics-of-deception/

Dust Bunny Queen said...

C. While eating solids is to be encouraged at breakfast and is permissible during lunch, Dinner should contain only fluids.

Soooooo....you are saying it IS ok to have just scotch for dinner?

:-)

Drago said...

LLR Chuck: "There will now be a dozen or more -- more, no doubt, when Drago wakes up -- ..."

LOL

Ingachuck'stoothlessARM said...

sounds like the Seinfeld "'Contest' episode

narciso said...


https://dailycaller.com/2019/07/09/exclusive-intelligence-entrepreneur-joel-zamel-speaks-out-for-first-time-since-mueller-investigation/

Beasts of England said...

For the record: I think President Trump is not only a fabulous human being, but undoubtedly the greatest president in the history of the US. After he wins an easy reelection in 2020, his likeness should be added to Mount Rushmore!!

narciso said...

the last link was about the last remnants of the toxic cloud, of miasma, that mueller has left, could one compare him to jim garrison in his recklessness,

Bilwick said...

Don't Democrats want to eat out lunch? Or force us to give our lunch to other people (because "Social Justice" or some such shibboleth.)

Ingachuck'stoothlessARM said...

stop indicting ham sandwiches and they could eat their own lunch

Bay Area Guy said...

@Chuck,

Ok, we'll see if it works. Here's the confirmation email I got for the big-ass bottle of gin:

"Hi Barney Guy,
Thanks for your Holiday Market order #1881403. Your order will be available for in-store or curbside pickup on Wednesday, July 10, 2019 at 11:00 AM.
*Please call us at (248) 541 - 1418 when you arrive. *

We are in the front of the store under the PURPLE AWNING. (north corner)


Pick Up Instruction: Authorize Chuck to pick up -- from Bay Area Guy"

E-mail me at bayareaguy52@yahoo.com, if it doesn't work.

Henry said...

So wait. Chuck drinks the bottle of gin, and then he makes 50 comments? Should be interesting.

walter said...

Bay Area Guy drives a hard bargain.

Chuck said...

Bay Area Guy: They are good people at Holiday Market, and that should work. They have a very good, very tech savvy customer base and as a store, they are eager to make their online purchases work. It has worked before with another Althouse commenter.

Nichevo said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Nichevo said...

Who can do that without the static of distracting thoughts like...


Most humans. Men. Intelligent people. The sane.

They have drugs for your condition, you know.

That static, hon, is somewhere between ADHD and schizophrenia.

Beasts of England said...

I've been thinking more about Rushmore, and the first thing we have to do is rename it Mount Trumpmore!! Doesn't that sound yuge and bigly? Luxurious, even... Now about the hair - it's gotta be gold leaf, baby!!

mockturtle said...

You can eat my lunch but don't drink my milkshake.

Nichevo said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Kevin said...

I get totally sidetracked by the figure of speech in "Republicans are eating our lunch. I want a 2020 Democrat tough enough to eat theirs."

2020 Dems are busy rolling out a culturally-appropriate, carbon-neutral, free lunch to anyone who can make it here.

Nichevo said...

As for giving your dinner to your enemy, if you read books, Ann, you would understand that Russians are simply recapitulating ancient wisdom.


From the journal, if I have it right, of the Inter-American College of Radiology:

Http://www.webcir.org/noticir/2010_vol7_n4/2010_vol7_n4_eng.htm


The history corner


AVICENNA

This name was the one scholastics used to refer to the Persian philosopher Ibn Sina (Afshana, Bukhara, 980 – Hamadan, 1037).

He was famous for his knowledge of medicine as well as for his education in Philosophy, Math and Astronomy. He was also a physician and a counselor for several Persian sovereigns.

He was a very famous doctor in the East; his Canon of Medicine, translated into Latin in the 12th century, was considered the cornerstone text in all West schools.

...

Avicenna’s medical knowledge is captured in a Spanish popular saying that translates: Suppers killed more than Avicenna cured. This saying intends to show how harmful is to eat excessively at the and of the day and to compare the negative effects of this fact with the Persian physician and philosopher’s good practice.

Luis Ros Mendoza
Associated Editor


In your case, emerita, when something seems strange to you, you should assume that your education is lacking, and remedy the fault.

Nichevo said...

Bay Area Guy said...
@Chuck,

Ok, we'll see if it works. Here's the confirmation email I got for the big-ass bottle of gin:

"Hi Barney Guy,
Thanks for your Holiday Market order #1881403. Your order will be available for in-store or curbside pickup on Wednesday, July 10, 2019 at 11:00 AM.
*Please call us at (248) 541 - 1418 when you arrive. *

We are in the front of the store under the PURPLE AWNING. (north corner)


Pick Up Instruction: Authorize Chuck to pick up -- from Bay Area Guy"

E-mail me at bayareaguy52@yahoo.com, if it doesn't work.

7/9/19, 3:41 PM


Perfect! Now to set up the sniper's hide with a view of the PURPLE AWNING. Google Street View should cover that. Who's closest to Michigan?

Fen said...

Farmer: Don’t fall for the partisan distraction. “Republicans” are just as much controlled by and in service to the elites as “Democrats.” You must never fall for the foolish lie that anything is ever about “Democrats vs. Republicans.” If you are an America First Trumpist nationalist, you must watch the “Republicans” more closely than the “Democrats.” It is a given that the “Democrats” will sell out your interests. They tell you straight up they will. The “Republicans” lie to you and then sell out your interests. See the recent 100+ “Republicans”’who signed on to an H1B visa giveaway to Big Tech (at the expense of American workers). The elite loves the old left vs right, capitalism vs. socialist squabbles because it keeps people busy arguing about issues that haven’t mattered for decades.

On this day, Tuesday July 9th 2019, we are in agreement.

Drago said...

"On this day, Tuesday July 9th 2019, we are in agreement."

Make that tri-greement.

Narr said...

Quadripartite Agreement: you can't spell Duopoly without D's and R's.

Anyone here remember "Socialism for the Rich"?

Narr
Whatever happened to that guy?

mockturtle said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
mockturtle said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
mockturtle said...

No one on the political scene today is as devious and dangerous as the never-Trump Republicans. No one. No, not even the out-and-out socialists.

Silly Calabrese said...

I still don't get the 'the Republicans are eating our lunch' line. My take on it is that the government of the United States, at every level, belongs now and forever to the Democrat party, and that if the Republicans somehow get into office somewhere, they are stealing power from the Democrats. The overall impression of entitlement and arrogance is quite off-putting.

Unknown said...

Beware of Greeks bringing gifts and Russians bringing dinner?