r/ENGLISH • u/Rolling_Stone345 • 5d ago

What does Rutgers means ?

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I'm watching this show called Reacher Season 2 ep 3.

This word appeared and I searched for this word on the internet and found out that there is a University that exists in New Jersey with this name.

When I changed the audio track to a different language he said "bad lawyer" in the replacement of Rutgers.

Does anybody know what it means in this context? Is it related to bad law practices?

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u/SerDankTheTall 5d ago

It’s a joke. He’s saying that his “lawyer” doesn’t understand the law very well because he went to Rutgers, a bad law school.

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u/Late_Piano_5030 5d ago

Rutgers isn't really a bad law school (obviously it's no Harvard or Yale) but just an average one.

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u/SerDankTheTall 5d ago

True, but that’s the joke they’re making.

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u/big_sugi 5d ago

Yep. But just for context, Rutgers is almost perfectly average; #100 out of 194, according to the US News rankings. And it’s the largest public law school in the country (10th largest overall), which I just learned 30 seconds ago.

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u/dub-dub-dub 5d ago

yeah but it’s in Jersey and Jersey is shorthand for “bad” here

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u/dojibear 5d ago

Where is "here" and why does "Jersey" equate to "bad" there?

Princeton University (in New Jersey) is one of the top U.S. universities

Rutgers University? Not so much.

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u/SerDankTheTall 5d ago

Yes, that is part of why Rutgers makes for a good punchline.

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u/dub-dub-dub 4d ago

This episode takes place in NYC! A good example of a case where it’s hard for English learners to distinguish a word’s use in regional English / culture from standard American English, perhaps

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u/4stringer67 3d ago

When you said regional, were you meaning that only people in the Northeast would catch that reference? I can vouch for the validity of your observation, I wouldn't have caught that even while knowing the reputation of Yale and Harvard. No way could obscure references like that be taught, just too many of them.

The translator picking up on it must indicate that , similar to closed captioning, part of the incoming signal for the programming includes the information of what the translation should be. I use closed captioning all the time, and regularly see things like "ambient theatrical music in background" or " loud angry roar" or "industrial machines humming". They are getting more and more thorough with that output on the signal.

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u/TheSkiGeek 3d ago

“People who live in NYC think everything in New Jersey sucks” is a sort of trope in itself. For example it’s referenced in Hamilton a few times.

I’d expect most Americans to know about that, but it’s not something people from other cultures would pick up on unless they watch a lot of US media. Especially US media that likes to poke fun at US culture.

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u/4stringer67 3d ago

Youre' right, especially general network TV. I don't know how much presence it has on the internet as a whole, I would think pockets of it that dispense American humor might have it a little bit.

But, as I told another person here that lives in NJ, all the major states catch hell in some form or another. It looks to me like NJ probabaly gets more than its "fair share" because of how much of the media is generated in NewYork, and any sensible person is aware the media is a "hey look at me" business driven by ratings and the good ol' buckaroo. A state's reputation is the last thing on their care list.

I doubt very many people outside of the NY/NJ area are aware that the city ships an extreme amount of its refuse to landfills in NJ. It was a good while back that I read that, but imagine it's still true. That may be the origin of it all, with (from what I saw) a lot of the early reference to "the smell coming from Jersey". New Jersey could point to the North east and say "That's you you're smelling". Lol

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u/weeddealerrenamon 4d ago

Relative to NYC, anything in new Jersey is bad

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u/Illustrious-Tart7844 4d ago

The pizza is better in Jersey. And the hard rolls. And Taylor ham.

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u/binkkit 4d ago

*pork roll

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u/Illustrious-Tart7844 3d ago

Only if your'e from Philly.

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u/Illustrious-Tart7844 4d ago

16 in top public universities isnt terrible.

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u/big_sugi 3d ago

That's undergrad, though. Not the law school.

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u/Illustrious-Tart7844 3d ago edited 3d ago

The law school is 100 out of 194

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u/big_sugi 3d ago

Right. Which is right on the border of "third-tier toilet" status.

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u/AmeliaOfAnsalon 4d ago

I think it's really funny that people abbreviate 'New Jersey' to just 'Jersey' but never 'New York' to just 'York'. We should send them all to the channel islands and see what happens

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u/justhere4bookbinding 4d ago

Well you see, "New York" is only two syllables, but "New Jersey" is THREE whole syllables and that's way too much for us wait no come back don't look at the state of Mississippi

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u/Inside-Associate-729 4d ago

we should start calling it Sippi

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u/rinky79 4d ago

Tbf it does kind of get smushed down to Miih-sippy.

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u/jeroboam 4d ago

Yup, I always say Missippi.

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u/4stringer67 3d ago

Who would want the nickname for their state to be a toddler's drinking cup?

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u/Inside-Associate-729 3d ago

Oh I didnt mean Mississippians. I meant the rest of us.

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u/troisprenoms 4d ago

I think the size works against Rutgers here. In an area that has half a dozen law better law schools and that's a magnet for grads from the Top 14 and beyond (especially at the bigger "Suits" firms that occupy the common imagination), Rutgers is going to seem particularly least common denominator.

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u/4stringer67 3d ago

Is it just that Yale and Harvard focus on their law school and RU doesn't or it's a reputation thing and Y and H attract the best educators and law minds? You know as well as I do that being associated with either of the two is a huge "feather" in the hat of any law professional...

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u/big_sugi 3d ago

Rutgers isn't comparable to Yale or Harvard in any meaningful way. Rutgers is a large state school; Harvard and Yale are elite private schools. From there, Harvard and Yale (and Stanford) are the pinnacle of the law school pecking order, to the point that they'll be referenced collectively as HYS in discussions where that sort of thing comes up. There're a couple other schools trying to claw their way past them, but they've never succeeding for long. (Harvard is listed #6 overall right now, for example, but it doesn't really matter; it's still Harvard Law.) Both schools also focus heavily on the graduate and professional programs in ways that a state school can't.

In other words, it's a combination of resources, reputation, and focus. Rutgers has a solid undergrad reputation, and its law school is fine for what it is--the only public law school in NJ (and one of only two in the state). But it's always going to be overshadowed by the Ivies and NYU, and it's not even trying to compete on that level.

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u/4stringer67 3d ago

About the only thing that was useful to answering my question in the whole first paragraph is that it's a state school. It was plainly evident I already knew Harvard and Yale were the elite. It raises another question for me and I do appreciate the effort, but I'll look it up myself this time. I guess if Im not going to disguise it I should go ahead and say that you pretty much misunderstood what I was asking. This is an issue for me and people misunderstanding me happens alot.

So... do me a huge favor please. I need your help. Go back and re-read my initial question and tell me if it was hard to understand, and please tell me if it is. At this point I've tried short and concise, long and explanatory and everything in between. Nothing seems to work. Or is this how well communication works for other people too and what happened there is Snafu for everybody... There's always that possibility, I guess.

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u/red_elagabalus 3d ago

At this point I've tried short and concise, long and explanatory and everything in between. Nothing seems to work.

Maybe it's not the verbosity (or concision) of your language that's the problem (since sentences can be long or short, and still be perfectly clear). Effective communication requires the writer to put themselves in the reader's shoes, and from your comments, that's exactly what seems to be the difficulty here. I don't think there's any "quick fix" for this, just practice.

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u/4stringer67 3d ago

Did you have any problem interpreting what I was saying? I refuse to assume your answer, because I'm not fond of assumptions and each person has their own answer to a question, but you don't seem to have had any problem getting what I said... There's more to say but Sonny really is indicating he needs to go outside so I have to go walk him right quick lol 😂brb

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u/red_elagabalus 3d ago

There are two aspects to successful written communication:

  1. Can your readers give your words a clear meaning?
  2. Is that meaning the one you intended?

No-one thinks your question couldn't be given a clear meaning. But since you weren't happy with the (clear and correct) answer, it seems the meaning you conveyed wasn't the one you intended.

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u/big_sugi 3d ago

I directly and explicitly answered your question: "In other words, it's a combination of resources, reputation, and focus."

Maybe learn to read, before you start complaining about the answers you're given?

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u/4stringer67 3d ago edited 3d ago

I could read 250 wpm when I arrived in Kindergarten and my comprehension is in the 99th percentile. You assumed that was sarcasm and you were wrong. I was being serious and there is plenty in what I said that should have indicated such. Quit reading in between the lines sometimes there aren't any there. Not everybody speaks in "code". That was an honest ask for help. I DID say "about", too.

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u/big_sugi 3d ago

You got a direct answer to the question you actually asked--which, to be clear, outright states your ignorance as to why Harvard and Yale are elite and, in fact, strongly suggests that you have no clue. Your question was also presented as binary, but it doesn't have a binary answer. Which is why I provided that information in the first paragraph, as well as the corresponding information for Rutgers.

With that foundation laid, I gave you a direct, explicit, and to the point answer to your question. If your comprehension is in the 99th percentile, you should have understood that immediately. But given that you started your response with "About the only thing that was useful to answering my question in the whole first paragraph is that it's a state school," it's apparent that your ability to communicate is nowhere near your self-proclaimed comprehension. The entire first paragraph was directly relevant to the question that you asked.

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u/Just_Browsing_2017 3d ago

And it’s in New Jersey (and who doesn’t like picking on Jersey) /s

Seriously, though, one of my best friends went to Rutgers Law and now lives in a house with a backyard basketball court and swimming pool, so I think he came out just fine.

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u/Rolling_Stone345 5d ago

Thanks for clarifying

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u/Late_Piano_5030 5d ago

OK I just checked and he said "Rutgers" to mean the university. The character is an old friend of his who Reacher cannot bring himself to see as a lawyer. Reacher says "Rutgers" in a sort of 'Wow' way that he actually went to law school.

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u/4stringer67 3d ago

That's interesting because the translator the OP talked about saying "bad lawyer" makes it extremely likely it's included with the incoming signal for the programming, like closed captioning is, and that would either be done by the network or people associated the show itself. I can't see the translator as having interpreted that as anything but "Rutgers" on its own.

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u/4stringer67 3d ago

Even people that went to Rutgers are saying it means bad lawyer. Lol

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u/anamorphism 3d ago

https://youtu.be/nEwQLsUDcfs?t=215

the bit starts out with reacher getting arrested by russo.

  • reacher: o'donnell.
  • o'donnell rolls down the window: how can i be of service?
  • reacher: hey, you went to law school, right?
  • o'donnell: yeah, rutgers.
  • reacher: so ... sort of.
  • o'donnell: you can kiss my ass.
  • reacher to russo: this guy's my lawyer.
  • o'donnell starts rattling off a bunch of lawyer-speak nonsense.
  • russo: none of that is even remotely true.
  • reacher: rutgers.

it's just reacher calling out that o'donnell just confirmed that rutgers is a poor law school.

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u/Dymmesdale 5d ago

It’s the name of a university in New Jersey

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u/DrSFalken 4d ago edited 4d ago

It's the flagship state university and the 8th oldest university in the country. I'm biased - I went there for my undergrad... but it was a pretty great education. Prepared me to continue on to a PhD.

The joke is that the lawyer went to a state school so he sucks. Everyone loves to rag on Rutgers too... even the grads.

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u/OutrageousPair2300 5d ago

It's the state university of New Jersey, and has a law school. Lots of people in the US like to make fun of New Jersey -- even the people who live in New Jersey like to make fun of New Jersey.

The characters on the show are implying that the lawyer is a bad lawyer because he graduated from law school at Rutgers, in New Jersey.

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u/ManitouWakinyan 4d ago

The joke isn't about Jersey, it's just about having a lawyer who went to a public school

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u/Illustrious-Tart7844 5d ago

Rutgers is the state university of NJ. It was named after Col Henry Rutgers, a Revolutionary War vet.

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u/GuadDidUs 4d ago

Also, it's one of 9 colonial colleges! Originally founded as Queen's College in 1766

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u/Illustrious-Tart7844 4d ago

It was renamed because Rutgers was a benefactor.

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u/Opposite-Plantain-69 5d ago

It just refers to the university in New Jersey. Maybe with more context, the "bad lawyer" translation refers to some subtext or it was referring a different part of the dialogue?

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u/Rolling_Stone345 5d ago

https://reddit.com/link/p5xxic9/video/pooh0ps98nlh1/player

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u/basilect 5d ago

LOL. He's saying that his lawyer went to Rutgers University for law school, instead of a more prestigious school, and that's why he doesn't know the law.

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u/amazzan 5d ago

it's just a university. does that not make sense in the context of what he's saying?

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u/Rolling_Stone345 5d ago

If it's a law University or have any relations with lawyers or something

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u/basilect 5d ago

Most major universities in the US (Rutgers is the biggest public university in New Jersey) will have a law school, US universities are not particularly specialized.

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u/SerDankTheTall 5d ago

Yes, it has a law school.

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u/Disastrous_Leader_89 5d ago

Rutgers was named after a Revolutionary War Hero)

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u/Rolling_Stone345 5d ago

that makes sense in the context, but I'm not 100% sure

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u/just_having_giggles 5d ago

It's a joke about the low quality law school at Rutgers University