# cake-eater



## edharcourt

Bonjour, 

Can anyone explain the meaning of "cake-eater" in the following context, please?

Australia : a cop called Jack was supposed to have listening devices for an important surveillance but his colleague annouces that there's no bugs available for them. 

JACK
But we got warrants!
BOB
I told them [the technicians] that.
JACK
Jesus Christ, we're trying to prevent a hit.
BOB
I told them that too. 
JACK 
Fucking cake eaters.

Given the context, it's more than likely an insult...
In the Urban Dictionary, I found several things about "rich people", maybe "spoiled kids"...
But it also occurred to me that it could have something to do with the idiom "take your cake and eat it"...
It could also simply mean that those technician have nothing to do all day but eat cakes...

Any help would be much appreciated.
Merci !


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## DrD

Hi edharcourt,

I've never heard this expression before, but my guess would be that your suggestion that the technicians have nothing to do all day but eat cakes is probably right. I know that in American films/TV series you quite often hear a lot of sarcastic comments about cops doing nothing but eating doughnuts all day - I'm guessing this is something similar. Jack and Bob are *real* cops out chasing bad guys, the technicians are just sitting in the station eating cake and don't even provide the *real* cops with the help they need to do their jobs.


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## Santana2002

It's not an expression that I've ever heard of, but I wonder if it could be a reference to Marie Antoinette's infamous "_Let them eat cake_!"? In which case, I would agree with your interpretation of it meaning wealthy people or spoiled people.


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## Quaeitur

I was going to suggest exactly what Santana did  I think there may well be something to that explanation


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## DrD

Santana2002 said:


> It's not an expression that I've ever heard of, but I wonder if it could be a reference to Marie Antoinette's infamous "_Let them eat cake_!"? In which case, I would agree with your interpretation of it meaning wealthy people or spoiled people.



In a different context I would agree. But the 'cake eaters' seems to refer to the technicians. Why would somebody wealthy be working as a police technician and what would that have to do with the fact that they are unable to supply the bugs? My interpretation is that the insult refers to them not doing their jobs and, therefore, the most likely meaning is that they're too busy eating cake to do what they're meant to do.


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## Santana2002

Only the wealthy could afford to 'eat cake', _and have the leisure to do so_.  I still believe that this well-known phrase of Marie Antoinette's is the basis of the 'cake eaters' in edharcourt's post.


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## DrD

Only the wealthy could afford to eat cake in 1789 - if that were still the case today, I'm sure there would be far less obesity 

I agree with you absolutely about the leisure aspect of this - for me the implication is that being a technician doesn't involve any real work, so they have the leisure to sit around eating cake while Bob and Jack are out there doing the hard graft. However, I see absolutely no implication that the technicians are wealthy. Surely if they were wealthy they would be sitting at home in front of the TV eating their cake, rather than having any sort of job at all?

I think perhaps we may have to agree to disagree on this one Santana. Personally, I'm off to eat some cake


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## DrD

Actually Santana, having thought about this some more (because I hate disagreeing with people ), perhaps we are not really that far away from each other after all. I think that what we are both trying to say is that what this term implies is that the technicians are in a position of privilege. What do you think?


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## Santana2002

Yes, the technicians are in a position of privilege is exactly the point being made.


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## DrD

Phew, thank goodness for that!


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## Boyar

Bonjour,

Connaissez-vous les fameux concours de mangeurs de tartes ?
Il est évident que cette activité n'a pas de sens; il faut donc être un *parfait idiot* pour devenir un mangeur de tarte (cake eater)...


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## Micia93

j'aurais tendance à penser comme Boyar, et je pense qu'il ne faut peut-être pas chercher trop loin ...


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## Language Hound

Boyar said:


> Connaissez-vous les fameux concours de mangeurs de tartes ?
> Il est évident que cette activité n'a pas de sens; il faut donc être un *parfait idiot* pour devenir un mangeur de tarte (cake eater)...


In the U.S. at least, these contests are PIE-eating contests, not cake-eating contests.
Since the context is an Australian one, maybe an Aussie out there will tell us what this means...


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## lilison

My first reflex was also Marie-Antoinette. But also, around here there is a stereotype that cops eat donuts. Could it imply that they sit around eating cake instead of getting their job done?


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## sylvainremy

Cake eaters are effeminate people (e.g., bureaucrats, technocrats, officers) riding a desk away from the real action, as opposed to rough-and-ready people (e.g. pipehitters, soldiers) on the ground close to the real action


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## Language Hound

sylvainremy said:


> Cake eaters are effeminate people (e.g., bureaucrats, technocrats, officers) riding a desk away from the real action, as opposed to rough-and-ready people (e.g. pipehitters, soldiers) on the ground close to the real action


What is your basis for saying this? Is this just your personal opinion?


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## You little ripper!

This is the definition given by the Merriam-Webster dictionary. It's probably a euphemistic way of saying that they're a bunch of bloody inept 'pooftahs'  an insult quite common (well, used to be quite common) over here. 

Definition of CAKE-EATER

an effeminate party-going dandy

For me a 'cake eater' is not a real man. The context will sometimes change the meaning slightly.


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## sylvainremy

Language Hound said:


> What is your basis for saying this? Is this just your personal opinion?


Death in the Delta


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## Language Hound

Thank you, Sylvainremy.
I am not familiar with "the old joke that some officers (especially administrators) are 'cake eaters'."
Although both co-authors of the book you cite are American, "cake eater"/"cake-eater" is a term I have never come across.

As YLR points out, the definition can be found in the _Merriam-Webster _dictionary.
Too bad none of us looked it up eight years ago.


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## You little ripper!

Language Hound said:


> Too bad none of us looked it up eight years ago.


It probably wasn't in there 8 years ago. 🙂


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## Le Gallois bilingue

“….._fat bastards!”  is similarly insulting, methinks._


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## sylvainremy

Language Hound said:


> I am not familiar with "the old joke that some officers (especially administrators) are 'cake eaters'."
> Although both co-authors of the book you cite are American, "cake eater"/"cake-eater" is a term I have never come across.


I suspect it might be old Navy slang. Western (even merchant) Navies tend to have old aristocratic traditions of strong social divides between officers and sailors. Just a hypothesis, which might also close the loop with the "let them eat cake" trope.


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## trans-latour

Un traduction française approchante pourrait être:
"planqués"
Définition du CNRTL: Planque: ♦ _P. ext., fam._ Emploi, situation à l'abri de tout risque, de tout tracas


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## tartopom

You little ripper! said:


> an effeminate party-going dandy


Then could we say 'une grande folle'?


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## Locape

Je ne crois pas qu'ils font référence au côté efféminé de ces techniciens, 'grande folle' ferait penser à une critique homophobe ou transphobe, ce qui ne semble pas être le propos. C'est pourquoi je pense qu'en français, 'planqué' (la proposition de @trans-latour) fonctionne mieux. Ils critiquent apparemment surtout le fait que ces techniciens restent dans leur labo ou à leur bureau, contrairement à eux qui sont sur le terrain et qui n'ont pas peur de se coltiner la réalité du métier.
Je pense que le mot important dans la définition de 'cake eater' est 'party-going dandy', donc pas des vrais mecs qui doivent se taper le sale boulot, mais des hommes qui sont allés à l'université, vont au travail en costard et ont des activités culturelles. 
Éventuellement, je penserais à 'mangeur de petits fours' en français.


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## Le Gallois bilingue

Le Gallois bilingue said:


> “….._fat bastards!”  is similarly insulting, methinks._


You could equally say “_lazy bastards”. _It seems a pretty straightforward insult to me.


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## Micia93

le mot "chochotte" me vient à l'esprit. Qu'en pensez-vous?


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## Locape

Ça pourrait marcher, mais peut-être dans un autre contexte où ces techniciens n'oseraient pas se déplacer ou aller sur le terrain. Ici, ils ne leur ont pas fourni les micros (cachés), donc ils ne se rendent pas compte de la réalité du travail des policiers, que chaque jour et chaque minute compte, ils sont déconnectés, dans leur tour d'ivoire.


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## tartopom

Locape said:


> Je ne crois pas qu'ils font référence au côté efféminé de ces techniciens, 'grande folle' ferait penser à une critique homophobe ou transphobe, ce qui ne semble pas être le propos.


Oh, sorry for not being clear, Locape. I only answered YLR's definition without checking the OP's post. My bad!


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## sylvainremy

Pour creuser la même veine aristocratique, on peut aussi proposer (selon le contexte): "petit marquis" et "poudré", récemment mis en avant dans la politique: Emmanuel Macron : découvrez le surnom (peu flatteur) que lui donne Laurent Fabius.


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## You little ripper!

Locape said:


> Je ne crois pas qu'ils font référence au côté efféminé de ces techniciens, 'grande folle' ferait penser à une critique homophobe ou transphobe, ce qui ne semble pas être le propos.



I just want to make clear that the term  'poofter' as Australians use it does not necessarily refer to a homosexual man; it can be used generally to abuse someone.

poofter

mainly Austra l A homosexual or ‘poof’; an effeminate man; also as a general term of abuse


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