Meaning of sentences

Hoo, boy, this one ain't easy. There was a book, and then a movie, called "The Horse Whisperer", about a guy who could tame unridden wild horses by whispering things into their ear and talking quietly to them, instead of the usual brute force method of forcing a saddle on them and then riding them, clinging on, as they buck and try to throw you off however they can, until they are completely exhausted and finally give in (I think that's how it worked--I never saw the movie). There are now also people who say they are "dog whisperers" who do the same thing with untame dogs (and cure bad habits of dogs too), and so on.

A "jackass" is a relative of a horse (I think usually it's a synonym for a mule, which is a horse-donkey hybrid). It's also a slang term for a person who is a jerk, an idiot, an asshole, or in this context a hater, someone who is giving you an extremely hard time for reasons you consider invalid. The quote says you shouldn't bother trying to change them by being nice to them or being quiet and reasonable to them. It's probably saying something like just ignore them, it's their problem, not yours.

okay, I just looked it up and a "jackass" is a male donkey, not a mule. Both donkeys and mules have a reputation for being stubborn and wanting to do only what they want to do, not necessarily what their owner wants them to do--but then, I mean really, who wants to carry half a ton of stuff around on their backs all day when all they get out of it is a little hay? I'd say the donkey has a good case for being stubborn.

It means don't waste your time trying to win over those who cannot be won over.

A jackass whisperer would be someone who had great talents in getting jackasses to behave as you wish them to.

As MJ pointed out, jackasses are stubborn and oppositional.


Great phrase!!!

What you need is a good digression thread.

Your talents are wasted on this one!!!

Actually, the whisperer part of it was more metaphorical than actual. According to his book, he had watched mustangs in their wild setting, and learned how the matriarch mares treat the colts in their herd, and learned to use the same methods when "breaking" horses later on. It's a very interesting book.

The point about whisperer here is that it has entered the social lexicon to mean anyone who can effect a seemingly miraculous behavioral "cure." I think you might enjoy reading the book. Don't know nuthin' about the movie.

By the way, for those who have not tripped to the origin of this question yet, Tang is quoting ShewolfNM's signature line.

Many thanks to all of you, helpful members, who responded to my post.