The Star Tribune had an article from New Zealand yesterday. It makes the country seem a little quaint, but also note the possibly Midwestern use of the word interesting:
Britain's Prince Andrew faced a knotty problem Saturday at the unveiling of a sculpture in New Zealand.Posted by robe0419 at October 3, 2005 09:27 AM | TrackBackThe prince was asked to say something about the sculpture commemorating the links between New Zealand and England when he looked back at a tangled knot of gray rods behind him.
"This sculpture is, um, interesting,'' Andrew said. "Having looked at it now...''
The rest of his words were drowned out by laughter from the crowd ....
The sculpture commemorated the 200th anniversary of the death of Admiral Horatio Nelson at the historic Battle of Trafalgar.
What's the Midwestern usage? In Britain, 'interesting' is often used to mean 'I hate it but I don't want to look like an idiot (or offend anybody)'. I'd hazard a guess that's what Prince Andrew meant here too. Not that his chubbiness ever seemed to worry too much about looking like an idiot.
Posted by: Sharon at October 3, 2005 10:04 AM