May 2, 2007 09:43
17 yrs ago
English term
a square, thouroughly white, not street
Non-PRO
English
Other
Idioms / Maxims / Sayings
Other
Please explain the meaning of this phrase in the following sentence: "I could never pull off being a cool inner-city youth leader. I am a square, thouroughly white, not street."
Responses
+10
6 mins
Selected
explanation below
Square = straight-laced, not trendy - a bit old-fashioned
Thoroughly white = caucasian with little or no exposure to or understanding of other cultures
Street = hip, young, trendy - your basic inner-city teenage or twenty-something type person
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Note added at 39 mins (2007-05-02 10:22:58 GMT)
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This person would have trouble relating to inner-city youth due to lack of cultural ties and a wide gulf separating their badkgrounds, interests and experiences.
Thoroughly white = caucasian with little or no exposure to or understanding of other cultures
Street = hip, young, trendy - your basic inner-city teenage or twenty-something type person
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Note added at 39 mins (2007-05-02 10:22:58 GMT)
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This person would have trouble relating to inner-city youth due to lack of cultural ties and a wide gulf separating their badkgrounds, interests and experiences.
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer.
Comment: "Thanks, kmtext and all the others."
+2
5 mins
Marie-Hélène Hayles
Native in English
&
English
medicine - chemistry - pharmaceuticals
Native in: English
Works in: Italian to English, English
Related KudoZ points
:
4
short for "no street credibility"
i.e. (in this context) would not be accepted/trusted by inner city youth.
Peer comment(s):
| agree |
Aisha Maniar
: yes, a clear outsider
10 mins
|
| agree |
William [Bill] Gray
20 mins
|
12 mins
Aisha Maniar
Native in English
&
English
French/Arabic-English legal translator
Native in: English (Variants: UK, British) 
Works in: Arabic to English, French to English, English
the antithesis of anything considered remotely "cool"
I find the language in this piece intriguing (at least from a British point of view)..."square" and "street" in the same sentence to mean the same thing...I've never heard anyone use the word "square" except on really old programmes
"street" describes street/urban culture which is largely multicultural
Is this an older person talking?
"street" describes street/urban culture which is largely multicultural
Is this an older person talking?
Peer comment(s):
| neutral |
RHELLER
: square is very common in the U.S. (unhip, straight, dull, conventional)
4 hrs
|
+1
4 hrs
(not for grading) of the urban "street culture, underground, hip-hop
Of or pertaining to the urban "street" culture, undergound, based around the core of hip-hop, skateboarding, bmx etc
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