Dave's ESL Cafe's Student Discussion Forums

[hiromichi]

What are " one Gomer Pyle and one Beetle Bailey"/

"Meanwhile, as Pentagon officials continue working on their plan to have Iraq hug it out, foreign entanglements have left our army stretched to the breaking point. And last week it was disclosed that poor equipment and insufficient training have left two-thirds of both the Army and National Guard's combat force unready for combat. To put that in context: For every G.I. Joe our army has, we also have one Gomer Pyle and one Beetle Bailey." --Jon Stewart
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Hiromichi

[redset]

Gomre Pyle and Beetle Bailey are both fictional characters who served in the military. They're known for being inept, lazy or simple - basically not the ideal professional soldiers you'd want serving in Iraq! G.I. Joe, in contrast, is an all-American heroic soldier - so what the quote is saying is that one third of the army are professional and capable (the G.I. Joes), but the other two thirds are all people like Gomer Pyle and Beetle Bailey. For each 'G.I. Joe' the army has, it also has one 'Gomer Pyle' and one 'Beetle Bailey'. One thousand G.I. Joes means one thousand Gomer Pyles and one thousand Beetle Baileys.

Do you watch The Daily Show? I love Jon Stewart.

[hiromichi]

redset, Thank you very much today.
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Hiromichi