Cheers and Jeers

Posted by Brian from Shawnee on February 12, 2004

In Reply to: Orchids and onions posted by Bob on February 12, 2004

: : : : : : : Dear Friends:

: : : : : : : As I found a popular word "picks and pans", which is commonly seen in online magazines or reviews, but I couldn't find the definition in any dictionary (either the real one or the virtual one online).

: : : : : : : Would you please kindly show me the meanings/definitions of the "picks and pans", together with 2 or 3 examples of usages for me?

: : : : : : : Thanks very much in advance!

: : : : : : : Charles2Smart
: : : : : : : :)

: : : : : : : ----------
: : : : : : : PS:
: : : : : : : As far as I can "IMAGINE" (sorry, English is NOT my mother tongue), the "picks and pans" might be suggesting something like "good and bad", "likes and dislikes", in which the "PICKS" is referred to something positive, while the "PANS" is referred to something negative! Is it right???????????

: : : : : : Yes, you're very close. To pick (choose) is to select approvingly. To pan (slang for disapprove) is to reject. A movie reviewer may pan a bad movie.

: : : : : And sometimes magazines get cute with it and have something like "roses and thorns," etc.

: : : : You asked for an example. The Columbia Journalism Review has Darts & Laurels. Darts = pans. Laurels = picks. It relates to applauding or condemning actions rather than movie reviews. Maybe someone else has a site for that specifically.

: :
: : : My thanks go to Bob and ESC for the very much fruitful responses!

: : : Here I am trying to make a list of THESAURI as follows:

: : : . Picks (+) and Pans (-)
: : : . Roses (+) and Thorns (-)
: : : . Darts (-) and Laurels (+)
: : : . Pros (+) and Cons (-)
: : : . Thumb-ups (+) and Thumb-downs (-)

: : : Please kindly place your comments or add up more of this kind! Thabks very much in advance!
: : : :-)

: :
: : In many software download sites, there are the uses of the "Thumb-ups" and "Thumb-downs" images/icons next to each download item so that visitors can realise how popular or unpopular the software is evaluated or assessed by the users (often shown in percentage)!! -- Which is why I think "Thumb-ups and Thumb-downs" can be one of the ideal thesauri of "picks and pans"! What do you think then?

: : Thanks in advance for any of your ideas!!

: Newspaper columns will sometimes use orchids and onions ... which I believe to be highly misleading, since orchids are often prissy little flowers, and onions make the world a much better place. Fry 'em up.

One of the famous U.S. weekly newsmagazines uses "Cheers and Jeers", I think.