Learn English with English, baby!

Join for FREE!

Social_nav_masthead_logged_in
 
poster child

poster child

Date: Feb 26 2009

Quote

1. Quote - Listen to the quote and guess what the slang means.

“I am a poster child for, ‘Don’t judge someone by their looks.’ I think it’s about the person, about their sense of humor and their personality.”

- Actress Drew Barrymore on what she looks for in a guy. (people.com)

Definition

1. Definition - Study the definition.

someone who is a perfect example of something

2. Use - Learn how the slang is used.

You’d think a beautiful celebrity like Drew Barrymore would only date other beautiful celebrities, right? But she insists that she doesn’t care only about looks. She thinks that being funny and smart and having a great personality are more important than looking good. And from what we can tell, she’s not lying. She was once married to Tom Green, a funny but rather unattractive comedian. And she talks all the time about how much she loves talk show host David Letterman, who probably won’t win Sexiest Man Alive any time soon.

Drew Barrymore thinks physical beauty is so unimportant, she says that she is the poster child for not caring about looks. She’s the perfect example of that idea.

The term poster child originally referred to a little girl or boy with some disease, whose picture would be put on posters in order to raise money or get more sympathy for other people living with that disease. In that case, poster children were perfect examples of innocent lives being affected by a terrible disease.

Nowadays, you can be a poster child for anything, as long as you perfectly represent that cause or concept. You can even be a poster child for something bad. For example, a poster child for the dangers of drinking, perfectly represents why it is dangerous to drink. They might have serious health problems or have lost their friends, family, and job because of their drinking problem. It would be much better to be a poster child for drinking as much as you want without ever getting sick.

Examples

1. Examples - Hear some example sentences.

“James is a poster child for quitting smoking. Ever since he quit, he feels so much better. “

“She was a poster child for the importance of getting a college education.”

Winners

1. Winners - See who guessed the slang definition correctly.

VOLTS Someone who emulates a cause or situation so well he/she could be placed on a poster to represent it.
by VOLTSSuper Member!
centoir A person whose perfect fit for stereotype.
by centoir
Ann--ye I think that she means she is always an exmple of people who doesn't judge the others by their looks.
by Ann--ye
lalobrown A person who is a prominent example or type of something.
by lalobrown

Want to guess next week's slang?

The iTEP® test

  • Schedule an iTEP® test and take the official English Practice Test.

    Take Now >

Comments

Log in to Comment

damdoma

Syrian Arab Republic

hi am dima from syria and am with u in what u say . am arabine girl and all people judge us that we are bad bcz we are arab with out know that we are very kind people thanks and if u want to speak with me this is my email ( ) bye

09:23 PM May 07 2009 |

Marcelolic

Marcelolic

Brazil

Anyway,I’m a poster child to my pupils of the gym…I have to be well (in shape) for them,because of my proffession! Personal Trainer ;)

07:38 PM Mar 04 2009 |

lalobrown

lalobrown

Dominican Republic

Im a poster child of the consequences of drinking too much,i used to drink like a fish,now i´ve kidney disease :(

03:16 PM Feb 26 2009 |

Naomi1010

Naomi1010

Taiwan

Barack Obama is a poster child for treating different races equally. And I really like his thinking!

01:53 PM Feb 26 2009 |

jennyjianglin

China

i do not think the looks is the most important ,i think the good heart is the most important.

12:44 PM Feb 26 2009 |

Athan

Athan

China

Nowadays it seems more and more people are concerning about the outside look of others.And it’s hard to find the poster child of who doesn’t care the look but the inside.But I believe there are more people who cares inside of someone than the ones who care the others’ looks.

10:48 AM Feb 26 2009 |

Village girl

India

I too believe that character and personality matters more than looks. Heart should be beautiful and pure.

10:46 AM Feb 26 2009 |

Likes (30):

See all >

Share this lesson:

  • Share on Facebook
  • Share on Bebo
  • Share on Myspace
  • Share on Twitter
  • Email this to a friend
  • Share on Sina

Post Ebaby! lessons on your blog:

Ebaby! Cast