The Finch Formerly Known As Gold

3 March 2008

Wear your scare quotes with pride

Seen in the Border Mail by Ray Dixon, this odd little advertisement:

As long as you're genuine

Mr Dixon attempts to explain:

What is a "genuine" nudist?
Someone who not only likes to parade around in the nude in front of other people, but who is also not just trying to show off his or her prowess. Think of the not so well-endowed, they MUST be genuine nudists to go around showing off what they haven't got.

What is the ad really selling?
I think they might be trying to find recruits for a new super competition of nude volleyball, which is tipped to be played at this year's Beijing Olympics.

I suspect Mr Dixon is giving us the Trans-Hemisphere Chain Pull with this latter, but I have to admit, I'm amused by the concept: wouldn't that just frost NBC's, um, bottom line?

Posted at 1:05 PM to Birthday Suitable


I believe there is a blog out there entirely dedicated to the misuse of quotation marks, such as in this example.

The one that scares me the most is "rural."

I can only assume that "rural" weekend retreat means, "It's private except for the folks on the other side of the fence with the binoculars"

But then again, I suppose if I were a "genuine" nudist (instead of someone who only strips down right before hopping in the shower), I wouldn't care about whether it was truly "rural" or not.

Posted by: fillyjonk at 4:06 PM on 3 March 2008

Well, you might. Not everyone, even those who might admit to nudist tendencies, "likes to parade around in the nude in front of other people," especially if the other people in question are likely to gawk or to complain.

Posted by: CGHill at 5:12 PM on 3 March 2008

the other people in question are likely to gawk or to complain.

If the nude person is, say, Tricia Helfer, I would certainly gawk. If it were Rosie O'Donnell, I would certainly complain.

Are there other options?

Posted by: McGehee at 8:34 PM on 3 March 2008