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A Pooh-Poohing primer
Friday, December 7, 2007"The Pakistan manager pooh-poohed the suggestion that his players were involved in match-fixing", said a major newspaper recently. This being one of my brighter days, I found myself thinking about this. Not the part about the Pakistan manager. Saying that they fix their matches is a bit like accusing Toyota of manufacturing cars. Core business, as they say in MBA speak. No, what interested me was the "pooh-poohed" part.
How do you pooh-pooh a journalist at a press conference? I can imagine the journalist standing up and asking the Pakistan manager Journalist: "Is it true, sir, that you and your team are actively involved in match fixing?" Pakistan Manager: "Pooh-Pooh"
Everyone that matters, everyone who is news worthy, is doing it. Manmohan Singh recently pooh-poohed journalists' claims that his government was anti poor. Dubya pooh-poohed allegations that the US was losing ground in Iraq. Even someone as lowly as the Mumbai Police Commissioner pooh-poohed the hell out of someone for saying that the crime rate was going up.
I have therefore taken it upon myself to educate the public in the basics of pooh-poohing.
Q. Can you pooh-pooh a proposal?
A. Not unless it alleges something
Q. What is the correct procedure for pooh-poohing?
A. You wait for a journalist to ask you something. Then you stand up, face him squarely and say "pooh-pooh"
Q. Will this kill the journalist?
A. Alas, no, but if you say it right, he will wish he was dead because all his brother journalists will nudge each other when he walks into a party and say "Don't look now, but that's the guy who was pooh-poohed the other night"
I have of course only scratched the surface of this fascinating and complex subject. Needless to say, it will take months of patient practice before you achieve any kind of expertise at pooh-poohing. Longer, for a doofus like you. But keep at it. Pooh-pooh everybody at every opportunity. before soon, the world will tremble when you walk.
One caveat, though. Don't say "pooh-pooh" to someone under 10 years of age. They will merely reply "Tigger Tigger"