# Nitpicking the BBC **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [December 4, 2010, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nitpicking-the-bbc/562889 "2010-12-04T01:33:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Pierrot\_Le\_Fou](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f475e1/32.png) [@Pierrot\_Le\_Fou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pierrot_Le_Fou)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2010, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nitpicking-the-bbc/562889/1 "2010-12-04T01:33:26Z")
> [@BBC](#): > > Mr Cheney was Halliburton’s chief executive before becoming vice-president to George W Bush in 2001. Dick Cheney was not “vice-president to George W. Bush.” He was Vice President of the United States. An office that is constitutionally independent from the presidency. The vice president does not report to the president. The president has no authority over the vice president. BBC fact checkers should have caught this mistake. At least they did not use “prior to.” > **[Dick Cheney faces bribery scandal charges in Nigeria](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-11902489)** > > Nigeria's anti-corruption agency is to charge US former Vice-President Dick Cheney over a bribery scandal involving a former subsidiary of energy firm Halliburton. Link from this thread: > **[Interpol to issue international arrest warrant for Dick Cheney](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=587711)** > > See here, and a story from the BBC here. It’s reported that the Nigerian anti-corruption agency is set to issue an arrest warrant for Cheney in connection with a £115m bribery case involving Halliburton, the company that Cheney headed prior to... ---
**Author:** ![pravnik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8edcca/32.png) [@pravnik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pravnik)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2010, 1:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nitpicking-the-bbc/562889/2 "2010-12-04T01:54:01Z")
Similarly, I am oft outraged upon hearing in a description of a duo that one partner played “Laurel to his Hardy” or “Cheech to his Chong.” Neither Laurel nor Cheech were subordinate to Hardy or Chong. They were equal in position and neither acted at the direction of the other or was under any compulsion to do so. I have written many, many letters to the editor on this topic. ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2010, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nitpicking-the-bbc/562889/3 "2010-12-04T02:02:36Z")
I’m pretty sure Costello is Abbott’s bitch, though. ---
**Author:** ![pravnik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8edcca/32.png) [@pravnik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pravnik)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2010, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nitpicking-the-bbc/562889/4 "2010-12-04T02:23:54Z")
Well, of course. That’s why I didn’t include them. ---
**Author:** ![amarone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e0b2c6/32.png) [@amarone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amarone)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2010, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nitpicking-the-bbc/562889/5 "2010-12-04T02:36:20Z")
I am more outraged that they did not use a period/full stop after the W in George W Bush. ---
**Author:** ![Two\_Many\_Cats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8dc957/32.png) [@Two\_Many\_Cats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Two_Many_Cats)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2010, 3:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nitpicking-the-bbc/562889/6 "2010-12-04T03:59:54Z")
I dunno, I thought Laurel was usually subordinate to Hardy. Not always though. A better way to describe Cheney’s position would be Cheney’s Moe to Bush’s Curly. But who would Larry be? (S’nerk…bush…curly…snicker…ahem…) ---
**Author:** ![Enderw24](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ba9def/32.png) [@Enderw24](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enderw24)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2010, 4:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nitpicking-the-bbc/562889/7 "2010-12-04T04:23:21Z")
You know what I hate? When I go into a Taco Bell and say I want a chicken burrito supreme and a meat burrito supreme and the mouth breathing troglodyte says “two burrito supremes” with a smirk. I shove one, wrapper and all, down the dude’s throat screaming “it’s burritos supreme you fucktard lettuce jockey!” God, you think people would have standards in the fast food industry these days. ---
**Author:** ![Two\_Many\_Cats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8dc957/32.png) [@Two\_Many\_Cats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Two_Many_Cats)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2010, 6:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nitpicking-the-bbc/562889/8 "2010-12-04T06:16:15Z")
> [@Enderw24](#): > > You know what I hate? When I go into a Taco Bell and say I want a chicken burrito supreme and a meat burrito supreme and the mouth breathing troglodyte says “two burrito supremes” with a smirk. > I shove one, wrapper and all, down the dude’s throat screaming “it’s burritos supreme you fucktard lettuce jockey!” > > God, you think people would have standards in the fast food industry these days. 😕😕😕:dubious: ---
**Author:** ![Terraplane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/74df32/32.png) [@Terraplane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terraplane)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2010, 7:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nitpicking-the-bbc/562889/9 "2010-12-04T07:10:53Z")
Back in the day people used to have a little pride about what they’d pit. This? This is some pathetic bullshit. A shameful pit thread. ---
**Author:** ![dzero](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/5f9b8f/32.png) [@dzero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dzero)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2010, 7:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nitpicking-the-bbc/562889/10 "2010-12-04T07:42:40Z")
> [@Two\_Many\_Cats](#): > > 😕😕😕:dubious: Oh come on. The connection is obvious. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Novelty\_Bobble](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Novelty\_Bobble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Novelty_Bobble)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2010, 8:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nitpicking-the-bbc/562889/11 "2010-12-04T08:28:50Z")
> [@Pierrot\_Le\_Fou](#): > > Dick Cheney was not “vice-president to George W. Bush.” He was Vice President of the United States. An office that is constitutionally independent from the presidency. The vice president does not report to the president. The president has no authority over the vice president. > > BBC fact checkers should have caught this mistake. That construction is fine for me. In the UK at least it doesn’t mean exclusively “under”. It merely establishes the connection. When actors say “he played x to my y” there is no hierarchy implied. I’ve heard “he was Hitler to my Stalin” before and good luck unpicking that relationship. meh! ---
**Author:** ![Kozmik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/8dc957/32.png) [@Kozmik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kozmik)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2010, 8:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nitpicking-the-bbc/562889/12 "2010-12-04T08:44:52Z")
> [@Terraplane](#): > > Back in the day people used to have a little pride about what they’d pit. This? This is some pathetic bullshit. > > A shameful pit thread. Agreed. As if people who follow the news couldn’t comprehend that [I. Lewis Libby](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chief_of_Staff_to_the_Vice_President_of_the_United_States)was “Cheney’s Cheney”, either. ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_Kumquat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/4491bb/32.png) [@Gary\_Kumquat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_Kumquat)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2010, 9:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nitpicking-the-bbc/562889/13 "2010-12-04T09:36:22Z")
> [@Pierrot\_Le\_Fou](#): > > At least they did not use “prior to.” What’s wrong with “prior to”? ---
**Author:** ![Gleena](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b3f665/32.png) [@Gleena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gleena)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2010, 10:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nitpicking-the-bbc/562889/14 "2010-12-04T10:00:07Z")
nvm ---
**Author:** ![AK84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85e7bf/32.png) [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2010, 11:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nitpicking-the-bbc/562889/15 "2010-12-04T11:40:08Z")
I also pit calling somebody, my wife, or my daughter, or my sister. Especially the use of the word “my” as it shows possession and thus cannot be used. ---
**Author:** ![Pierrot\_Le\_Fou](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f475e1/32.png) [@Pierrot\_Le\_Fou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pierrot_Le_Fou)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2010, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nitpicking-the-bbc/562889/16 "2010-12-04T17:49:25Z")
> [@Novelty\_Bobble](#): > > That construction is fine for me. In the UK at least it doesn’t mean exclusively “under”. It merely establishes the connection. There is no connection. The two offices are completely independent. ---
**Author:** ![MsWhatsit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/eb8c5e/32.png) [@MsWhatsit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsWhatsit)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2010, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nitpicking-the-bbc/562889/17 "2010-12-04T17:51:24Z")
F- ---
**Author:** ![amarone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e0b2c6/32.png) [@amarone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amarone)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2010, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nitpicking-the-bbc/562889/18 "2010-12-04T18:23:06Z")
> [@Pierrot\_Le\_Fou](#): > > There is no connection. The two offices are completely independent. Only if you nitpick about the original constitution and ignore modern practice. ---
**Author:** ![Novelty\_Bobble](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Novelty\_Bobble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Novelty_Bobble)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2010, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nitpicking-the-bbc/562889/19 "2010-12-04T19:16:06Z")
> [@Pierrot\_Le\_Fou](#): > > There is no connection. The two offices are completely independent. Do they work together? is there a constitutional relationship between them? Do both have the word “president” in their title.? Of course there is a connection ---
**Author:** ![amarinth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3be4f8/32.png) [@amarinth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amarinth)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2010, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nitpicking-the-bbc/562889/20 "2010-12-04T20:28:26Z")
> [@pravnik](#): > > Similarly, I am oft outraged upon hearing in a description of a duo that one partner played “Laurel to his Hardy” or “Cheech to his Chong.” Neither Laurel nor Cheech were subordinate to Hardy or Chong. They were equal in position and neither acted at the direction of the other or was under any compulsion to do so. When I read that construction, I assume that it means the two were a pair, not that one is subordinate to the other but that the two are a single unit. (I know that both Cheech & Chong have gone on to solo projects, but still I don’t think of one without the other.) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nitpicking-the-bbc/562889.md?page=2)