Anthony Licari is not a sailor
Well, neither am I – but I do know the difference between a rudder and a tiller. Most sensible people do.
Anthony Licari, on the other hand, either doesn’t know or believes that the prime minister is fond of some dangerous underwater action, clinging to the rudders of speeding boats while wearing goggles and a pair of flippers.
Dr Licari reminds us beneath each of his columns in The Times that he teaches psycholinguistics, sociolinguistics and geolinguistics at the department of French of the University of Malta. And yet he doesn’t know the difference between a tiller and a rudder.
This is what he wrote about the prime minister: “One may be a strong person with two sturdy hands on the rudder..”.
Hmmmm. This makes me less surprised that he has mistaken Joseph Muscat for a suitable prime minister for Malta, and the man to take the Labour Party (a decade too late) into the 21st century.
Anthony Licari is one of those who are backing the Poodle in the leadership race, along with Godfrey ‘I want both parties to love me’ Grima. Both of them backed his MEP election bid four years ago. Grima is now working on Muscat’s leadership campaign, and Licari is widely rumoured to have written those really stupid advertisements that appeared in the English-language newspapers during the general election campaign – the ones with Lawrence Gonzi ‘hiding’ ministers and some rubbish text. I suppose the Labour Party, with its touching faith in university certificates, believed that a lecturer in psycholinguistics would be the ideal person to conceive and write electoral campaign advertisements.
At least Licari didn’t mix the prime minister up with the leader of the opposition, but that’s a lot easier than working out the difference between a tiller and a rudder. One wears a wig and the other doesn’t.
So just for your guidance, Mr – sorry, Dr – Licari: the rudder is that hinged bit stuck to the stern of a boat, half of which is underwater; the tiller is that long rod-like thing at the stern, but above water, attached to the rudder and used for steering. Here’s a picture.
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As Del Boy would say “What a plonker!”
Touché Daphne, touché! Par bleu, je ne le savé çela.
Sacre’ bleu! Tiens! Bon sang! (trying to cuss like a French sailor) Zis is a mistake of grand proportions! As Professeur you should know that le diable is in ze detaille!
Dr. Licari, really sir, come on !
Goodness, some parties do ‘ave them !!
come on guys, admit it, you just cannot get it right, ….on any front.
By the way , he never writes down that he is a part time worker at the university.
Oh Daphne, you are too hard on Dr. Licari.
I know the reason why he got mixed up. His beloved party has been so rudderless for so long that the word ‘rudder’ must have been etched in his mind.
Do you blame him for that?
By the way, this Dr. Licari must be a very busy man and I wonder how he finds the time to write so much and so often while still lecturing at the University. You don’t think that he is asking his students to give him a hand, would you?
Two nautical jokes for all lejburisti to lift their gloom. (sorry do not know any jokes with rudders and tillers)
Joke 1
One ship carrying blue paint collided with another ship carrying red paint.
The crew is missing and believed to be marooned!
Joke 2
The lonely bachelor wrote to a dating service explaining that he had specific criteria for a potential mate and would not accept anyone who falls below his standards. He went on to explain that the candidate should be cute and short, who enjoys water sports, is a team player and who enjoys group activities.
He received an envelope the following week. It it was a picture of a penguin.