How to call such a civilian

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Jack, the civilian of Los Angeles used to be crafty even wicked that he always made trouble with the local authority. So the local officials reprimanded him "a crafty civilian" (I don't know what a word or an idom actually is).

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Well, he wouldn't be 'the civilian' of Los Angeles, because that implies he is the only person living there. He would just be 'a civilian.' In that context, 'a crafty civilian' just seems strange. 'reprimanded' implies punishment, so it doesn't make sense in the context of the sentence. You could use 'deemed' or 'called' or 'labelled' there instead.

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How to call such a civilian

I would not use the word "civilian" in that context at all.

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Jack, a crafty individual, had been known to make trouble with the local police. Local officials regarded him as a person who needed to be watched.

I know that I changed the second sentence, but the way that you wrote it, was not very clear.

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How to call such a civilian

Here I go again, picking apart your title. I might say, "How do I describe this person"?

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Thanks Pheonix and Cav. Smile

Here we go again:

Supposed in a city the local orthorities, including court, had been marred by wide spread malfeasance and corruption. For example, the mayor was an evil person that he had taken up to 10 million dollar bribes from those who wanted favours. He honored the bribers as "Excellent Civilian", while scolded those righteous citizens who didn't bribe him as "???" (I only know what a Chinese malfeasant would call).

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What's happening, Oristar? Good to see ya.

Whenever you're around I feel like the Skipper and you're Gilligan, my "little buddy."

Call me avuncular.

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oristarA wrote:

Thanks Pheonix and Cav.

Here we go again:

Supposed in a city the local orthorities, including court, had been marred by wide spread malfeasance and corruption. For example, the mayor was an evil person that he had taken up to 10 million dollar bribes from those who wanted favours. He honored the bribers as "Excellent Civilian", while scolded those righteous citizens who didn't bribe him as "???" (I only know what a Chinese malfeasant would call).

"Suppose in a city, the local authorities, including the courts, were marred by wide-spread malfeasance <note: while correct, this term is awkward outside of a legal context> and corruption. For example, the mayor was an evil person as he took 10 million dollars in bribes from those who wanted political favours. He honored these corrupt people by referring to them as "excellent civilians," and scolded the upstanding, law-abiding citizens who did not bribe him. <As for the ???, I have no clue, lol>

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Re: How to call such a civilian

oristarA wrote:

Jack, the civilian of Los Angeles used to be crafty even wicked that he always made trouble with the local authority. So the local officials reprimanded him "a crafty civilian" (I don't know what a word or an idom actually is).

Jack, a citizen of Los Angeles...
Los Angeles natives are also known as "Los Angelenos" or just "Angelenos," but that's more of a local usage.

...used to be crafty even wicked...
"Crafty" and "wicked," although perfectly good words, are uncommon, especially in this context. I'd use "devious" instead of "crafty." For "wicked," I'd use something like "dangerous" or "troublesome," depending on just how "wicked" he was.

...;he always made trouble for the local authorities.
I think the British have a "local authority," but Americans deal with the "local authorities."

So the local officials identified him as a "dangerous person"
A "reprimand" is a formal admonishment. I don't know what it means to be named a "crafty person;" if he was merely "devious," then perhaps he was identified as a "suspicious" person.

So, the end result: Jack, a citizen of Los Angeles, used to be devious and even dangerous; he always made trouble for the local authorities. So the local officials identified him as a "dangerous person."

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Nice.

"A devious person" might be a suitable one for the Chnese term.

Thanks for the corrections, Fav and Joe.

PS. Hi Gustavratzenhofer, isn't that avuncular an adjective? Uncle Sam. Very Happy

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How to call such a civilian

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