中文说－－Where\'s the beef?

中文说－－－－Where is the beef?


《英语说－－光打雷不下雨》一文中CNN political correspondent John King说道：Now, in a campaign that some of us are old enough to remember, maybe not many of the students here, this would be called the "Where's the beef?" question.

什么是 "Where's the beef?"

字面意义是：牛肉在哪里？这句话来自于1984年Wendy's 汉堡广告。

Wendys' "Where's the Beef" Commercial



广告一出现，Where's the beef？一夜窜红，被人们广为应用于指一个观点或一次事件或某产品的最关键的实质性东东在哪里？

“Where's the beef?” is a catch phrase best known in the United States and Canada. Since it was first used, it has become an all-purpose phrase questioning the substance of an idea, event or product.

It came to public attention in a 1980s U.S. television commercial created by Joe Sedelmaier as part of Dancer Fitzgerald Sample's fast food advertising campaign for the Wendy's chain of hamburger restaurants. In the ad, titled "Fluffy Bun", elderly actress Clara Peller receives a competitor's burger with a massive bun (the competitor's slogan was "Home of the Big Bun"). The small patty prompts the gruff Peller to angrily exclaim, "Where's the beef?" The humorous ad and Peller's memorable character soon gave the catch phrase a life of its own, and it was repeated in television shows, films, magazines, and other media outlets.

First airing on January 10, 1984, "Fluffy Bun" featured three elderly ladies examining an exaggeratedly large hamburger bun topped with a minuscule hamburger patty: the other two ladies poked at it, exchanging bemused comments ("It certainly is a big bun." "It's a big fluffy bun.") before being interrupted by Peller's outraged, irascible demand. Sequels featured Peller yelling at a Fluffy Bun executive on his yacht over the phone, and approaching drive-up windows at fast food restaurants that were slammed down before she could complete the line.
(From Wiki)

1984年的总统大选， 候选人Gary Hart 和 Walter Mondale之间辩论时，前副总统Mondale针对对手Hart的‘新政’，反问：“Where's the beef?”，从此加重了这个句子流行的分量。

The phrase was associated with the 1984 U.S. presidential election. During primaries in the spring of 1984, when the commercial was at its height of popularity, Democratic candidate and former Vice President Walter Mondale ridiculed the candidacy of his rival, Senator Gary Hart, by using the phrase during a March 11, 1984 televised debate prior to the New York and Pennsylvania primaries.

Hart had moved his candidacy from dark horse to the lead over Mondale based on his repeated use of the phrase "new ideas". When Hart once again used the slogan in the debate, Mondale leaned forward and said, "When I hear your new ideas, I'm reminded of that ad, 'Where's the beef?'" The line got a great response from the audience. Subsequently, the two campaigns continually clashed using the two dueling slogans (Hart presented his book, published later, to the press between two slices of bun).
（From Wiki）

朋友的女儿临盆在既，医生预计2月份第一周生，第二周还没生，现在第三周了仍然没生，采取了吃药催产措施，还是没生。朋友与女儿相隔3小时车程，一边要工作赚钱，一边担心着宝贝女儿和小baby，生活秩序大乱。天天抱怨：Where's the beef? All hat and no cattle.

哈哈，这里也可以用'Where's the beef?’ All hat and no cattle.。