High road

Posted by ESC on July 01, 2004

In Reply to: * Good Cop Bad Cop * posted by lewis on July 01, 2004

: : : Please tell me the meaning of the foll. phrases:

: : : Good Cop Bad Cop

: : : Waters-edgily on.
: : : "Should Kerry act water's-edgily on Iraq? Or should he satisfyhis angry left now, figuring he can go statesmanlike in October?"

: : : "take pen in hoof"
: normally the expression is 'take pen in hand', but animals have hooves, so if he was being compared to say a donkey (an american political symbol), the donkey would 'take pen in hoof' instead.

: "staying the course"
: complete the course of action - last the whole race -remain to the end

: : : "put on the fast track"
: fast track comes from railways - there is often a line that is reserved for express trains. when used in business it usually means that a person of exceptional ability is allowed to advance in ways that cut across company policy. additionally sometimes an order can be taken out of the usual system and processed quickly out of turn.

: "lurch toward the doves"
: doves are symbolic of peace makers - and are the opposite to hawks, the war-mongers. a lurch towards them means an ill-considered sudden change towards more peaceful policies.

:
: : : "on the high road"
: the most popular and quickest route

: "riggings"
: needs context - used of the ropes on ships used to control the sails, can be applied to an improperly obtained election result

: "raptor face" - abusive - expression like a bird of prey

: : : "cover the market"
: supply all types of goods/services to meet demand

: "get a rise out of"
: make fun of - get kicks from - enjoy teasing

: : : "dingers"
: can be minor motor collisions

: "asleep at the switch"
: supervisor/worker responsible for safety - not paying attention and creating risk.

:
: cheat sheet and cribsheet"
: two ways to describe an unofficial aid to passing an exam - could have formulae or actual answers

: "Heavens to.."
: exclamation

: "hone your chops"
: refine ?
: "choming at his bit"
: chomping - wanting to go forward - from horses

: "carnival barker"
: a person that encourages people to come in to an attraction/entertainment

: : : "straight line of a man"
: context?

: : : "doffed"
: took off or tilted hat as a mark of respect

: "all over the place"
: everywhere - also disorganised

: "throw her under the bus"
: Obvious surely?

: "take one for the team"
: endure something on behalf of others

: : Here's two:
: : Good cop/bad cop -- It is an interrogation technique. One cop acts mean and intimidating. The other acts as the suspect's sympathetic "friend." I guess the strategy is that the suspect will confess to the "good cop."

: also - the 'good cop' tries to convince the suspect that the 'bad cop' is going to do them harm, but that by co-operating the 'good cop' can restrain the violence/harm the bad cop would do.

: e.g. "He's an animal, but if you help me, by telling me where Jimmy the Sneak is, I will try to calm him down"

: It is a finely-honed psychological routine, well-used by interrogators for many years.

: : STAY THE COURSE - "Persist in an action or policy; remain with a plan despite criticism or setbacks. This phrase, perhaps based on a sailing metaphor of keeping an unchanged course in navigation, was popularized during the 1980 Presidential campaign.Republicans have helped to popularize the expression. During 1982, according to the Washington Post, Ronald Reagan 'visited 14 states in 10 days of campaigning since Labor Day, carrying his 'stay the course' message." From Safire's New Political Dictionary by William Safire (Random House, New York, 1993).

I don't know about "on the high road," but "take the high road" means to do the right thing. Don't sink to low behavior even if your enemies do.

• High road - really? Lewis 01/July/04
  • High road - really? ESC 01/July/04
    • High ground Henry 01/July/04
      • High road/low road ESC 01/July/04
        • High road/low road Lewis 02/July/04