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Listenever Posted 11 years ago
Grammar

work twice as hard (joke)



Two things:

At 33 seconds, an announcer seems to say:
The NFL celebrates our first arrest-free month since 2009.
No players arrested for 30 days straight.

In the second line, it seems that the verb ("have been" or "were") is left out. If so, why is it left out?

Also, at 56 seconds, Jimmy Kimmel seems to say:
You know what it means? They're gonna have to work twice as hard.

If this is what he said, what does he mean by "working twice as hard" in this context? I mean, I don't quite get the joke.
  

Top answer

The first one is just abbreviated. "have been" has been omitted. It makes it sound more like a headline.

— Michael Chambers Teaching English

  • The first one is just abbreviated.
  • "have been" has been omitted.
  • It makes it sound more like a headline.
  • Players (and any people) who are arrested obviously don't work.
  • So when there are fewer arrests, more work gets done.
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7 Answers
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The first one is just abbreviated. "have been" has been omitted. It makes it sound more like a headline.

Players (and any people) who are arrested obviously don't work. So when there are fewer arrests, more work gets done.

Kind regards, Michael
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Thanks! That should make sense, but somehow I don't find it too funny. Emotion: wink

Hey, Michael,
Could you go over to
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Ok thanks. I checked the other one. The answer you were given by Mr Micawber is right. Kind regards, Michael
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listeneverYou know what it means? They're gonna have to work twice as hard.
Players (and any people) who are arrested obviously don't work. So when there are fewer arrests, more work gets done.
That's not how I understood it at all. I assumed it meant (ironically) that the players will have to try harder to get arrested.
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khoffThat's not how I understood it at all. I assumed it meant (ironically) that the players will have to try harder to get arrested.
Thanks! And I think I get the joke.
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Michael Chambers Teaching EnglishThe answer you were given by Mr Micawber is right.
Actually, there are two questions in that thread. The first one was answered by Mr. Micawber, but the second, he couldn't hear due to the applause.
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It wasn't clear to me either. Perhaps something like : "she never did get to eat her kale salad."
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