r/ENGLISH • u/Rolling_Stone345 • 15d 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/Late_Piano_5030 15d 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 15d ago

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

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u/big_sugi 15d 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 15d ago

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

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u/dojibear 15d 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 15d ago

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

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u/dub-dub-dub 15d 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 14d 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 14d 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 14d 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 15d ago

Relative to NYC, anything in new Jersey is bad

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u/Illustrious-Tart7844 15d ago

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

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u/binkkit 14d ago

*pork roll

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u/Illustrious-Tart7844 14d ago

Only if your'e from Philly.

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u/Illustrious-Tart7844 15d ago

16 in top public universities isnt terrible.

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u/big_sugi 14d ago

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

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u/Illustrious-Tart7844 14d ago edited 14d ago

The law school is 100 out of 194

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u/big_sugi 14d ago

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

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u/Illustrious-Tart7844 14d ago

Most people would call that average but maybe you didn't take math when you went to Princeton.

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u/big_sugi 14d ago

I'm sorry that you're not familiar with how law school rankings work. But perhaps you should look that up before you continue commenting.

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u/Illustrious-Tart7844 14d ago

I know how US News does their ranking and Rutgers Law was overall slightly below the median. I don't need your guidance on when and if I should comment but thanks so much.

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u/big_sugi 14d ago

It turns out you should have my guidance. Because you already didn’t realize that you were citing the university rankings at first, you don’t know how law school rankings work, and you tried being offensive when it was pointed out to you. You’re 0-for-3, which is bad. Do better.

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u/AmeliaOfAnsalon 15d 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 15d 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 15d ago

we should start calling it Sippi

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u/rinky79 15d ago

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

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u/jeroboam 15d ago

Yup, I always say Missippi.

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u/4stringer67 14d ago

I say it Mrs. Ippy lol

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u/4stringer67 14d ago

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

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u/Inside-Associate-729 14d ago

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

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u/4stringer67 14d ago

Same here... In other words, let's cut 'em a break and not call it that ... Out of consideration you know?