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I have very little or no sympathy for BP and for their CEO or for their apologists. However, I think it is unfair to attack a Swedish guy (who probably speaks
by credo 16y ago
I have very little or no sympathy for BP and for their CEO or for their apologists.
However, I think it is unfair to attack a Swedish guy (who probably speaks English as a 3rd or 4th language) for saying "small people" when he probably intended to say something like "little guy" or "ordinary people"
- jdminhbg 16y agoOr the American politician's encomium of choice, "working families." Honestly, I think people already hate BP, I doubt this has much effect.
- deleted 16y ago[deleted]
- jmount 16y agoAh, but BP is bringing in their own sob story: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1287222/BP-oil-spill-British-pensioners-pick-BP-compensation-fund.html http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1287222/BP-oil-spill...
- frossie 16y agoHowever, I think it is unfair to attack a Swedish guy (who probably speaks English as a 3rd or 4th language) for saying "small people" when he probably intended to say something like "little guy" or "ordinary people" A misunderstanding that I believe is at the heart of the lyrics for _Common People_ by Pulp :-)
- soult 16y agoI speak English as a second language and I was convinced that "small people" is a synonym for "ordinary people" until I read this article. The German expression "Der kleine Mann" means "ordinary man" (in the context of an ordinary man against a big company or the government), but the word "klein" literally translates to "small"/"little".
- jdminhbg 16y ago"The little guy" means something similar, but with the added connotation of being an underdog (which sounds like what you describe "Der kleine Mann" as). Tiny idiomatic differences!