March 31 2008: Big Cheese Grater
Filed under Media
There’s this poster advertising the Financial Review newpaper (Australian equivalent of the Wall Street Journal) in a bus shelter that I pass on my way to work. Accompanying an image of the masthead of the newspaper, is a simple phrase (in lowercase Arial, white font) at the bottom of the poster: “Makes a big cheese greater”.
For the longest time, I didn’t understand the phrase, as I kept misreading it as “Makes a big cheese grater”. Obviously, I couldn’t imagine how I could possibly use a newspaper to grate some large pieces of parmesan cheese over my pasta dinners. Or for that matter, why I would even want to use a newspaper for a cheese grater.
Just this morning, I finally realised that it wasn’t in fact, a grater, but rather, it was greater. Following on from that, I then realised that it was a “big cheese” (as in colloquial slang for powerful people), not a big “cheese grater”.
Needless to say, I’m both impressed and disgusted - impressed by the intricacy of their play on words, but disgusted with myself for misreading the phrase that many times. Thus with this in mind, I hereby give up my title of “Most Smrtest Person In The World”, and surrender it to be shared amongst the first ten people to comment on this entry.
YAY I B SMRTER TODAY.
I didn’t even know that “big cheese” was slang for powerful people? Is it Australian? If so, I’m disgustingly un-patriotic here.
Xuan on March 31 2008 #
They intentionally did that to challenge the minds of smart people. The fact that you eventually got it in the end means YOU WIN!
(I’m liking this new layout. Blue > green!)
Nellie on March 31 2008 #
New layout omg <3
Sarai on March 31 2008 #
See, I’ve read “Big Cheeses” in chick lot loadsa times but I wouldn’t have thought about it in that context, at all. Weird. :P
(So I don’t blame you!)
Amber on March 31 2008 #
Big? Cheese? Grater? PASTA TIME?! :P
Je t’ <3 and also, your new layout is awesome!
Aisling on March 31 2008 #
haha, you’re so smart.
I love laughing at myself for my own retarded moments…
I also love laughing at people who blog about them…
I hope I’m laughing with you, not at you.
Mar on March 31 2008 #
I kept reading it as “grater”, too! I was just thinking, wtf does that have to do with Financial Review?
This reminds me of Homer Simpson: I am so smart! S-M-R-T!
Kaylee on March 31 2008 #
You lot must all be stupid, because I read it as “greater”…!
Jordie on March 31 2008 #
Fiou! I’m on time to be one of the smartest people. I’ll add the a, thank you. ;)
Julie on March 31 2008 #
Just reading that made me hungry for cheese. Damn pregnancy cravings.
Bobbi-lee on March 31 2008 #
Damn! I’m one person too late! But really, I don’t need you telling me I’m smrt; I know it on my own!
(Does it count that I came by and saw the new layout before you even posted this?)
Skye on March 31 2008 #
haha, that is a funny mistake..but no worries, I tend to have some pretty horrendous misreadings too. Like when memorizing dates for art history, my mistakes tend to be mixing up of numbers…instead of 1512 i would think 1521. I actually mixed numbers up on a Chem exam once just like that and it messed up all my calculations. We all have our moments.
marilyn on March 31 2008 #
:P I do things like that rather a lot!
I realised last night, that a userpic one of my LJ friends had, which said “A good Latin student never declines sex” wasn’t just a command to be promiscuous, but a joke which I should have got. Since ’sex’ is the Latin for six and cannot be declined. :D
Jennifer on April 1 2008 #
[...] in Melbourne of late has been so unique and pun-licious that it tickles my fancy. Adding to the “Makes a big cheese greater” slogan that I saw a few months ago, I have two more slogans to offer [...]
Jingwen » Blog Archive » Financial Advertising Wordplay on August 14 2008 #
I read that as “Make a Big Cheese Crater”. Wut. Cheese already have holes… what do they need craters for?! FAIL.
Crystal on August 14 2008 #
[...] gossip that I’ve consumed since then. Anyway. Regular visitors will know that I’ve been following the advertising campaign of the Financial Review, the Australian equivalent of the Wall [...]
Jingwen » Blog Archive » The Eighth Habit Of Highly Effective People on September 7 2008 #