I read an interesting comment from the football World Cup this week. A former striker from England, Chris Sutton, commented on Portugal’s 1 – 0 loss to Spain. He was irritated that the Portugal manager continued to play Cristiano Ronaldo even at the age of 41.
He said, "He's waddling around the field like a grandad, that's why Portugal are out. Cristiano Ronaldo does nothing; he did nothing. What is Roberto Martinez doing? How can you pander to a player so much?"
His comment contains a couple of good words to talk about.
1 – to waddle
To waddle means to walk with short, clumsy steps, swaying the body from side to side. The word is often used to describe the way that a duck or penguin walks.
I like the idea of a football team playing with 10 humans and one penguin, just to confuse the opposition. At least if his contributions on the ball were substandard, he would be able to convincingly dive in the box to win penalties.
Example
sentence:
Late into
her pregnancy, she began to waddle.
2 – to pander to someone or something
Pander is used negatively. To pander to someone means to let them have what they want or indulge their weaknesses, to keep them happy or avoid upsetting them.
In the case of Chris Sutton’s comments, he believes that the manager let Cristiano Ronaldo play, even though he was not the best option for the team, in order to please or avoid annoying the player.
Example
sentence:
The prime minister is pandering to members of his own party, rather than doing what is best for the country as a whole.
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