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Definition:
b) a group of people with mixed backgrounds
German translation:
motley = ein zusammengewürfelter Haufen
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GOOGLE INDEX
motley crew: approximately 400,000 Google hits
Sample text:
After the Berlin wall fell and the remaining occupation force departed in the early 1990s, a MOTLEY CREW of house squatters and hippies moved into the former French barracks.
(The National Interest magazine)
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So your heading down the road in your taxi for four
And you're waiting outside Jimmy's front door
But nobody's in and nobody's home until four
So you're sitting there with nothing to do
Talking about Robert Riger and his MOTLEY CREW
And where you're gonna go and where you're gonna sleep tonight
- from the song This Is The Life, by Amy MacDonald
Did you know?
motley crew
noun phrase
- a mixed group of people
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The word "motley" originated in England between the 14th and 17th centuries and referred to a wool fabric of mixed colours. It was the characteristic dress of the professional fool, or jester as they were called in medieval courts.
Thus motley came to be synonymous with something that has elements of great variety. A crew is a group of people working together, usually with a common goal.
Combining the two words into "motley crew" then gives us an expression describing a collection of people with different backgrounds. The expression is sometimes used in a negative sense for groups that are unorganised or unprofessional; in other words just a group of people thrown together to get something done.
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Musical Note:
While trying to find a suitable name, the hard rock band Mötley Crüe remembered when another a band called them a "motley looking crew." They wrote the name down as Mottley Cru. They eventually chose "Mötley Crüe" as the spelling because they were inspired by the umlauts in the German beer Löwenbräu, which they were supposedly drinking at the time.
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SMUGGLE OWAD into today's conversation
"I like working here because the company is a motley crew of interesting people."
Thanks to Corinna for suggesting today's word!
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And now...
Today's Learning Tip (9):
GERMAN-ENGLISH FLASHCARDS
The well-known technique of writing each word on a single card is a useful, transportable learning help. Write the German translation on the reverse side.
more learning tips
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