Big Cheese Grater
March 31, 2008 | 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.
16 Responses to Big Cheese Grater
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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 #
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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 #
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