Biden ad lib during the State of the Union has left people scratching their heads

Biden ad lib during the State of the Union has left people scratching their heads

Transcript¹

When President Biden dared Republicans to repeal² the Inflation Reduction Act during his State of the Union address, he pulled out an idiom that's all his own: "Lots of luck in your senior year."Sponsor Message

A MART?NEZ, HOST:

At a particularly contentious³ moment in his State of the Union address, President Biden ad-libbed something that had a lot of people scratching their heads.

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PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN: As my football coach used to say, lots of luck in your senior year.

MART?NEZ: But what does that even mean? Here's NPR White House correspondent Tamara Keith.

TAMARA KEITH, BYLINE⁴: It turns out this phrase isn't a new one for Biden. Back in the 1990s, he used to tell the story of meeting Slobodan Milosevic, the Serbian leader responsible for ethnic⁵ cleansing⁶ in the Balkans.

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BIDEN: He asked me what I thought of him, and I told him then I thought he was a damn war criminal and should be tried as such. He looked at me like I said, lots of luck in your senior year. Did not faze him a bit.

KEITH: And there was the 1997 Senate floor speech about a fundraising meeting, where Biden gave an answer that the donors⁷ didn't want to hear.

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BIDEN: Talked about a few things. Said, Joe, lots of luck in your senior year, you know? And I got up and left. I didn't raise any money.

KEITH: Most recently, though, the day after the midterms, Biden was asked about congressional Republicans investigating his family.

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BIDEN: Lots of luck in your senior year, as my coach used to say.

KEITH: But if you've never heard this phrase before, you're not alone. Anatoly Liberman is a linguist⁸ at the University of Minnesota and author of the book "Take My Word For It: A Dictionary Of English Idioms." This one isn't in his book.

ANATOLY LIBERMAN: It is not listed even in the most detailed⁹ database of formulas, wishes and sayings.

KEITH: He says there are a lot of idioms like this - only known in one region or even in one family.

BOB MARKEL: I went to high school with Joe Biden.

KEITH: Bob Markel played sports with Biden. He went on to be elected mayor of Springfield, Mass., and credits Biden with helping¹⁰ his campaign. And when Markel was watching the State of the Union, that phrase stood out.

MARKEL: I had the same reaction, I guess, as other people. You know, where did that come from?

KEITH: Markel figures Biden picked it up in college. NPR asked the White House which coach used the saying and what it means and didn't get an answer. But Markel's guess is as good as any.

MARKEL: It's not exactly an insult, but it's a gentle rebuke¹¹, put it that way. Good luck in your senior year, if you get there, in other words. I think that's basically what he's saying.

KEITH: Robin¹² Lakoff noticed the phrase, too. She's a professor emerita of linguistics¹³ at UC Berkeley. She says it reminds her of what people would write in someone's yearbook. But when Biden says it, there's a bite and an element of sarcasm¹⁴.

ROBIN LAKOFF: It couldn't be then turned back against him by the Republicans. Like, Marjorie Taylor Greene, just for instance, couldn't say, you know what he called me? He called me good luck in your senior year.

KEITH: But now that Biden has used the phrase on the biggest of national stages, it's possible it could stick, like past presidential rhetoric¹⁵ that has become part of the American lexicon¹⁶ - from morning in America to lots of luck in your senior year.

Tamara Keith, NPR News.

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1 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

2 repeal   

n.废止，撤消；v.废止，撤消

参考例句：

• He plans to repeal a number of current policies.他计划废除一些当前的政策。
• He has made out a strong case for the repeal of the law.他提出强有力的理由，赞成废除该法令。

3 contentious   

adj.好辩的，善争吵的

参考例句：

• She was really not of the contentious fighting sort.她委实不是好吵好闹的人。
• Since then they have tended to steer clear of contentious issues.从那时起，他们总想方设法避开有争议的问题。

4 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

5 ethnic   

adj.人种的，种族的，异教徒的

参考例句：

• This music would sound more ethnic if you played it in steel drums.如果你用钢鼓演奏，这首乐曲将更具民族特色。
• The plan is likely only to aggravate ethnic frictions.这一方案很有可能只会加剧种族冲突。

6 cleansing   

n. 净化(垃圾) adj. 清洁用的 动词cleanse的现在分词

参考例句：

• medicated cleansing pads for sensitive skin 敏感皮肤药物清洗棉
• Soap is not the only cleansing agent. 肥皂并不是唯一的清洁剂。

7 donors   

n.捐赠者( donor的名词复数 )；献血者；捐血者；器官捐献者

参考例句：

• Please email us to be removed from our active list of blood donors. 假如你想把自己的名字从献血联系人名单中删去，请给我们发电子邮件。
• About half this amount comes from individual donors and bequests. 这笔钱大约有一半来自个人捐赠及遗赠。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 linguist   

n.语言学家；精通数种外国语言者

参考例句：

• I used to be a linguist till I become a writer.过去我是个语言学家，后来成了作家。
• Professor Cui has a high reputation as a linguist.崔教授作为语言学家名声很高。

9 detailed   

adj.详细的，详尽的，极注意细节的，完全的

参考例句：

• He had made a detailed study of the terrain.他对地形作了缜密的研究。
• A detailed list of our publications is available on request.我们的出版物有一份详细的目录备索。

10 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

11 rebuke   

v.指责，非难，斥责 [反]praise

参考例句：

• He had to put up with a smart rebuke from the teacher.他不得不忍受老师的严厉指责。
• Even one minute's lateness would earn a stern rebuke.哪怕迟到一分钟也将受到严厉的斥责。

12 robin   

n.知更鸟，红襟鸟

参考例句：

• The robin is the messenger of spring.知更鸟是报春的使者。
• We knew spring was coming as we had seen a robin.我们看见了一只知更鸟，知道春天要到了。

13 linguistics   

n.语言学

参考例句：

• She plans to take a course in applied linguistics.她打算学习应用语言学课程。
• Linguistics is a scientific study of the property of language.语言学是指对语言的性质所作的系统研究。

14 sarcasm   

n.讥讽，讽刺，嘲弄，反话 （adj.sarcastic）

参考例句：

• His sarcasm hurt her feelings.他的讽刺伤害了她的感情。
• She was given to using bitter sarcasm.她惯于用尖酸刻薄语言挖苦人。

15 rhetoric   

n.修辞学，浮夸之言语

参考例句：

• Do you know something about rhetoric?你懂点修辞学吗？
• Behind all the rhetoric,his relations with the army are dangerously poised.在冠冕堂皇的言辞背后，他和军队的关系岌岌可危。

16 lexicon   

n.字典，专门词汇

参考例句：

• Chocolate equals sin in most people's lexicon.巧克力在大多数人的字典里等同于罪恶。
• Silent earthquakes are only just beginning to enter the public lexicon.无声地震才刚开始要成为众所周知的语汇。