Who taught: Andrew, Jake and Carol

Quiche (source: www.rosieleescafe.co.uk)

Do you guys all know who George W. Bush is? I believe so. He is a former President of the United States. OK then… here is another question. Do you know what the Bushism is? What do you think it is? It sounds like Bush’s political policy principles he set up during his presidency, doesn’t it? It has nothing to do with any political stuff. Here is the definition of Bushism on Wikipedia.

unconventional words, phrases, pronunciations and semantic or linguistic errors that have occurred in and defined the public speaking of George W. Bush

Here is one example for you. On Jan 11, 2000 he said, “Rarely is the questioned asked: Is our children learning?” when he gave a speech in Florence, South Carolina. What do you think? Doesn’t it sound familiar, my non-native English speaker friends? I have made so many mistakes like that, wrong BE verb, when I am speaking. It is quite hard to use the correct BE verb, especially with the choice between “is” and “are.” But, he was a former President of the United States and he is an alumnus of Yale and Harvard. So, I guess you do not need to worry about your wrong BE verb too much when you speak.

In relation with the Bushism, I heard another joke from Carol. I do not think this is a real story but who knows it could be. 🙂

1. Bush wins the election. He and Cheney are having lunch at a diner near the White House.

2. Cheney orders the Heart-Healthy salad.

3. Bush leans over to the waitress and says Honey, “Could I have a quickie?”

4. She’s horrified! She says, “Mr. President, I thought your administration would bring a new era of moral rectitude to the White House. Now I see
I was wrong and I’m sorry I voted for you,” and she marches off.

5. Cheney leans over and says George, I think it’s pronounced ‘QUICHE’.

Do you get it? Maybe not! OK. Let me give you a little bit of context here. So, Dick Cheney served a former Vice President of the United States under George W. Bush. In America, there is a food called, “quiche.” It is French food and a baked dish that is based on a custard made from eggs and milk or cream in a pastry crust. It is Jessy’s one of the favorite foods. As you can see, it looks very similar to quickie. Then, what is quickie? Quickie is from another word quick. But, it has a total different meaning from quick. It means a very quick paced version of sex. I am not sure how quick it should be to be qualified as quickie? Maybe it depends on a guy? 🙂

Now, the issue is pronunciation. Quiche’s pronunciation is /ˈkiːʃ/ whereas quickie’s pronunciation is /kwiki/.

It is not a surprise at all for Bush to make a wrong pronunciation. Apparently, the waitress did not want a quickie with Bush. One question for my American friends! “Could I have a quickie?” Do people even ask this kind of question in the real world?