Reader question:

Please explain “major dust-up” in this question: How do you deal with an individual who talks too loud in a restaurant without causing a major dust-up?

My comments:

Big quarrel, that is.

Big for major, quarrel for dust-up.

Quarrel or fight, actually, physical fight.

So, a dust-up is a quarrel or fight?

Yes.

How come?

Well, it, originally, comes from sweeping the floor. You see, when we sweep the floor, dust is swept up in the air, hence the term dust-up. Literally, dust is up, clouding the air.

Similarly, in a physical fight, dust on the floor is swept up from people stomping their feet. Likewise, when people quarrel loudly, spitballs fly left, right and center causing the whole atmosphere to become hot and clouded.

Hence, dust-up becomes another way to describe a fight or quarrel.

In our top example, “major dust-up” is a big quarrel, i.e. a quarrel that’s not minor or negligible.

By the way, how do you deal with an individual who talks too loud in a restaurant without causing a major dust-up?

If it were up to me, I’d choose to talk to a waiter rather than to approach that loud individual directly. If you ask that individual directly to lower his voice, he may take it personal. By asking a waiter to intervene instead, it becomes a matter between the restaurant and that individual, not a matter between two patrons. It becomes a matter of how the restaurant keeps peace and quiet in a public place.

So, nothing personal.

That’s my two cents about dealing with a loud individual in a restaurant to avoid a major dustup, to avoid making a noisy situation even more loud and noisy.

Whatever you do, do not raise your voice.

Lest a major dust-up really ensue.

All right, here are media examples of dust-up, standing for any dispute, fight, row or quarrel that dirties the air and disturbs the peace:

1. Washington Commanders defensive coordinator Jack Del Rio apologized on Wednesday after calling the Jan. 6, 2021, riots at the U.S. Capitol a “dustup.”

“I made comments earlier today in referencing the attack that took place on the United States Capitol on January 6, 2021. Referencing that situation as a dust-up was irresponsible and negligent and I am sorry,” Del Rio said in a statement posted on Twitter. “I stand by my comments condemning violence in communities across the country. I say that while also expressing my support as an American citizen for peaceful protest in our country. I have fully supported all peaceful protests in America.

“I love, respect, and support all my fellow coaches, players, and staff that I work with and respect their views and opinions.”

On Monday, Del Rio tweeted in response to a post about upcoming hearings on the events of Jan. 6: “Would love to understand ‘the whole story’ about why the summer of riots, looting, burning and the destruction of personal property is never discussed but this is??? #CommonSense.”

Del Rio told reporters on Wednesday, before his apology, that he was just asking a question about events in the spring and summer of 2020 that followed George Floyd’s death.

“Why are we not looking into those things – if we’re going to talk about it – why are we not looking into those things?” Del Rio said. “I can look at images on the TV, people’s livelihoods are being destroyed, businesses are being burned down, no problem. And then we have a dustup at the Capitol, nothing burned down, and we’re going to make that a major deal. I just think it’s kind of two standards, and if we apply the same standard and we’re going to be reasonable with each other, let’s have a discussion. That’s all it was. Let’s have a discussion.”

The House committee investigating the 2021 insurrection will conduct its first public hearing Thursday. The six hearings, which are expected to last until late June, will be the first time the committee discloses “previously unseen material” about what it has discovered in the course of a 10-month investigation that has touched nearly every aspect of the insurrection.

- Washington Commanders defensive coordinator Jack Del Rio apologizes after calling Capitol insurrection a 'dustup', ESPN.com, June 8, 2022.

2. Prince William and Prince Harry’s private rift became public knowledge when the Duke of Sussex admitted to it during the documentary Harry & Meghan: An African Journey and in an interview with Oprah Winfrey. Harry then gave an account in his memoir Spare of a blowout with William over Meghan that he alleged turned physical.

A royal biographer has claimed that there was another major dustup between the princes over something the duchess did that resulted in Harry and his wife pulling out of a summer trip with the royal family.

According to the Sussexes’ biography Finding Freedom, Harry and his older sibling argued when the now-Prince of Wales tried to have a frank discussion with him about not rushing into marriage with the Suits star.

Then in Harry’s memoir, he said that a physical fight occurred after William called Meghan “difficult,” “rude,” and “abrasive.”

In his book Battle of Brothers, Robert Lacey claims that another blowout occurred between the princes after the duchess guest-edited an issue of British Vogue. As The Mirror noted, members of the royal family, including Princess Diana and Kate Middleton, have graced the magazine cover in the past but Meghan turned that down and asked to guest-edit instead.

Lacey wrote: “William had been worried for some time that Harry was growing away from him, and this was confirmed when he tried to discuss the issues raised by Meghan’s Vogue with his brother. But there was another classic Harry explosion, followed by a further, even deeper rift.”

The biographer explained that led to the Sussexes canceling their summer trip to Balmoral Castle with the rest of the royals. The pair then went on their own holidays to Minorca and the South of France with celebrity friends.

- Another Blowout Between Prince William and Prince Harry Over Meghan Led to Sussexes Canceling Summer Trip, Royal Biographer Claims, CheatSheet.com, August 1, 2023.

3. There is clearly no love lost between Rory McIlroy and one of the top golfers from the United States.

McIlroy got into it with caddie Joe LaCava at the 2023 Ryder Cup earlier this year. LaCava, who caddies for U.S. golfer Patrick Cantlay, had a dustup with McIlroy that spilled over into the parking lot after the round.

Now, McIlroy isn't holding back his thoughts on Cantlay, referring to the U.S. golfer as a “d--k.”

“Here’s what angered me,” McIlroy said in the Irish Independent interview. “My relationship with Cantlay is average at best. We don’t have a ton in common and see the world quite differently.”

McIlroy crossed paths with several members of the U.S. team in the parking lot.

“And they’re trying to defuse the situation, but I start having a go at them,” McIlroy said. “‘Joe LaCava used to be a nice guy when he was caddying for Tiger, and now he’s caddying for that d–k he’s turned into a … I still wasn’t in a great headspace.”

Oof.

- Rory McIlroy Calls Rival U.S. Golfer A “D—k”, TheSpun.com, November 12, 2023.

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About the author:

Zhang Xin is Trainer at chinadaily.com.cn. He has been with China Daily since 1988, when he graduated from Beijing Foreign Studies University. Write him at: zhangxin@chinadaily.com.cn, or raise a question for potential use in a future column.

（作者：張欣  編輯：丹妮）