[thechat] King Preaches Abstinence to Parading Maidens

Paul Cowan evolt at funkwit.com
Fri Sep 13 02:26:01 CDT 2002


Madhu wrote:
> [1] Burqa: A long garment (usually black) used by Muslim women to drape
> their body, with only a grid through which to see.
> http://images.google.com/images?q=burqa

Always reminds me of an episode of Media Watch (Australian TV show 'keeping
an eye on the media') from a few years ago, where Australian _60 Minutes_
reporter Richard Carleton did a sensationalist piece about women in the
Middle East, and to make sure that everyone knew what he was talking about,
he appeared on-screen in a burqa.

Stuart Littlemore, then-_Media Watch_ host, described the scene as "the berk
in the burqa", which is probably not funny to anyone except people who
(a) know who Richard Carleton is, and (b) can picture Stuart Littlemore
saying that.

So if you're not Australian, ignore what I just said.

Paul

<tip type="Polite English">
As much as it may be used in any number of British sitcoms as an
innocuous term of affectionate insult, the word 'berk' is not necessarily
appropriate for polite society, at least if anyone using it knows what
it really means. 'Berk' is a piece of Cockney rhyming slang, and its meaning
is far from innocuous!
</tip>




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