Janey Birks, The Bachelor contestant forever known as ‘the one who ditched her shoe,’ has shared her reaction to a pre-Bachelor write-up in NW magazine describing the 27-year-old’s chances in the competition.
The short paragraph characterises the children’s entertainer as “playing the game,” stating that while she’s “so sweet you’ll probably end up dizzy and and in a sugar high from watching her,” she’s also “smart as a tack.”
It was this last line Janey took issue with.
She posted a photo of the page to Instagram, with the caption: “I absolutely loved this write-up in NW mag, until I realised they called me smart as a tack, because I can think of few things dumber that a tack :(”
“I swear I’m not that stupid,” she continued.
“Do you think this was a typo or a snide backhanded compliment?”
Okay, pause.
There’s so much wrong here.
1. NW got their phrasing incorrect, mistaking the word ‘sharp’ for the word ‘smart.’ The simile goes: ‘sharp as a tack’, implying that the person IS smart. EUGH.
2. I guess I can see why Janey thought it was an insult, because tack’s don’t have a brain/consciousness/thoughts, but still…
3. In the context, it was clearly a compliment. Even though they misplaced a word, they were still saying you were smart, Janey!
Janey’s followers weighed in, trying to crack the complex issue of whether or not the magazine was complimenting or insulting the ex-Bachelor star.
“I think it means you’re smart doesn’t it?” read one comment. “Cos tacs are really sharp? I don’t know hahaha.”
Another post read, “I think they’re idiots and got the analogy wrong. They are definitely saying you’re smart but you’re right, they should have said ‘sharp as a tac.'”
Janey, however, still thought someone was taking a jab at her.
“Admittedly getting paid writing work like this takes years of hard work,” she said. “And if I worked that hard and was then forced to write about reality tv contestants I would probably sneak in some snide stuff also assuming they wouldn’t notice.”
Ultimately, though, she conceded that no one was trying to be mean.
“I was pretty sure they weren’t being mean,” she wrote. “But you would think maybe if writing is your job you would get the simile right… but hey what would I know.”
The moral of the story? Get your similes right. Unless you want to confuse a lot of people.
Top Comments
Reaching!