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Thu 6 May, 2004 11:12 pm
(1) Thick-skinned = shameless ?
(2) dressing-down = exculpating?
One defense official said Mr. Rumsfeld was badly shaken by the developments and looked as "white as a sheet" at one point this week. But Mr. Rumsfeld's top aides quickly dismissed such characterizations. "He's very focused and verythick-skinned," said Lawrence Di Rita, the Pentagon's chief spokesman.
At the White House, where Mr. Rumsfeld has exasperated senior staff members for what they perceive as his disdain for them, advisers said that Mr. Bush's dressing-down of Mr. Rumsfeld on Wednesday was not merely public relations. The president was uniformly described as furious at his defense secretary, even as his motive for authorizing his staff to leak the scolding to reporters was intensely debated.
Hi Adrian, thanks for the links.
There are three definitions for thick-skinned. Which one is exactly meeting the context here?
They would have meant it as "not sensitive".
Meaning that despite the events of this week he is not hurt of scared.
The context here for thick-skinned would be anything relating to being tough or brave in the face of adversity.
Well, two different interpertations, but essentially the same meaning.
Has it implied or expressed a negative meaning here?
In this particular example, it is used in a positive way.
cavfancier wrote:In this particular example, it is used in a positive way.
very interesting. The usage could not be found in any dictionaries.
Hey, mull this one over oristar: Americans are proud of being thick-skinned.
They use it as a positive, but when you look at the real meaning behind the term, it is very revealing.
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