# "You're a savage little man aren't you?" Mr Joyce observed.

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-a-savage-little-man-arent-you-mr-joyce-observed/720356>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [May 19, 2015, 11:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-a-savage-little-man-arent-you-mr-joyce-observed/720356 "2015-05-19T11:17:50Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![blueslipper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/b5a626/32.png) [@blueslipper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blueslipper)\
**Post date:** [May 19, 2015, 11:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-a-savage-little-man-arent-you-mr-joyce-observed/720356/1 "2015-05-19T11:17:50Z")

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“You’re a savage little man aren’t you?” Mr Joyce observed.

> **[Sandilands, Joyce clash over Depp's dogs](https://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/sandilands-joyce-clash-over-depps-dogs/o8593a3at)**
>
> Barnaby Joyce and Kyle Sandilands have clashed over Johnny Depp's dogs, with the politician calling the shock jock "a savage little man".

“I’m not even a little man, I’m six-foot-one.”  
Sandilands appeared not to understand the figure of speech."

Sorry-what is the figure of speech they are talking about?

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**Author:** ![Aspidistra](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspidistra/32/3894_2.png) [@Aspidistra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspidistra)\
**Post date:** [May 19, 2015, 11:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-a-savage-little-man-arent-you-mr-joyce-observed/720356/2 "2015-05-19T11:27:25Z")

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Using “little” as a derogatory, rather than a description of physical reality.

I would bet that he understood it just fine, mind you, and was simply purposely taking the piss.

_sigh_. Kyle versus Barnaby. Can we just toss 'em both in the shark pit and let them fight it out? And throw away the key…?

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**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\
**Post date:** [May 19, 2015, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-a-savage-little-man-arent-you-mr-joyce-observed/720356/3 "2015-05-19T23:53:44Z")

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Is this case right up there with Justin Bieber taking his monkey with him to Germany or wherever it was?

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**Author:** ![Aspidistra](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspidistra/32/3894_2.png) [@Aspidistra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspidistra)\
**Post date:** [May 20, 2015, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-a-savage-little-man-arent-you-mr-joyce-observed/720356/4 "2015-05-20T00:43:44Z")

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Probably, but on steroids. We’re pretty rabid (_snerk_) about quarantine here, since introduced pests have made such a dog’s breakfast (I kill myself) of much of the native environment.

I have no idea how the dogs managed to sneak through - I would have thought that even private jet landings would have to go through customs, but I confess to not having paid the story a huge amount of attention.

I bet procedures get tightened up from now on. Probably as we speak a bunch of Australian multi-millionaires are cursing Johnny for spoiling it for the rest of 'em.