a word that i have talked about in many classes this summer is brag. thank u, donald trump.
brag refers to people who talk about themselves excessively and/or arrogantly.
the crowd in mobile was excited to hear trump brag
since trump announced his candidacy for president two months ago, it’s been easy to find instances of him bragging. kate linthicum at the los angeles times reported that during a nationally televised speech last night in mobile, alabama trump
criticized america’s leaders as “stupid,” complained about children born to immigrants in the country illegally, and bragged about his personal wealth.
and from the same speech time.com quoted trump as saying
the reason i have this really incredible enthusiasm…..is because i know what i’m doing. and i don’t say that in a bragging way. u people are looking for somebody who knows what he’s doing.
trump’s sentiment sounds similar to the saying
it’s not bragging if u can back it up
in other words, saying u can do something and then actually doing it isn’t bragging. it’s simply stating facts.
mordecai bragging about hummus
this clip featuring rigby the raccoon and mordecai the blue jay from the animated series regular show is a much more humble (opposite of arrogant) example that u will always remember. thank u, hummus.
this vid is a promo for the party pete episode of regular show (s02e09). in the episode, mordecai and rigby find a refrigerator full of promotional soda from the 1984 olympics. excited with their find, they decide to throw a party. the above clip shows them bragging about the snacks they bought for the party.
mordecai says
i don’t mean to brag, i don’t mean to boast, but here’s some hummus for these mini-toasts
boast is a synonym of brag.
hummus and pita triangles (foodrepublic.com)
mordecai is imitating the structure used by master mike of the sugarhill gang in this old school (a fashionable way to say old) rap classic rapper’s delight. listen at 4:38
i don’t mean to brag, i don’t mean to boast
but we like hot butter on a breakfast toast
fun elt practice 
richyrocks english on youtube
with both mordecai and the sugarhill gang, “i don’t mean to brag” is in fact used to introduce bragging. this is the most common usage for the phrase.
rigby gets excited about the hummus too
additionally, in the regular show video rigby makes this rhyme about his contribution to the party
some call me cheap, bit of a freeloader, but i bought cups for that old school soda
a freeloader is someone who doesn’t pay their fair share or always looks for a way to get something for free.
freddie the freeloader was a character red skelton created in the early days of american television. in this vid, he is kinda bragging about his plan to spend christmas in jail. for free.
what do u brag about? or are u always humble? do u agree that if u can back it up, it’s not bragging? share your answers under leave a reply
