Keep a low profile

To "keep a low profile" is to avoid attention

Today's story: George H. W. Bush dies
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Keep a low profile

When you keep a low profile, you try to avoid attracting attention to yourself. Most US presidents keep a low profile after leaving office. The gentlemanly tradition is to let your successor do his job. Every president has his time in the spotlight, more than his fair share of attention, so after a president leaves office, he generally keeps a low profile. You don’t see him in the news too much. When he’s in the news, it’s generally for some kind of public service, something non-controversial. George Bush and Bill Clinton would often work together as ex-presidents for good causes, but they both followed the tradition to keep a low profile.

When would you want to keep a low profile? If you’ve gotten in a bit of trouble, you want to keep a low profile until people start to forget what you did wrong. El Chapo, the drug lord, is on trial in New York, but his cartel is still active in Mexico. The new leaders of the cartel are keeping a low profile; they don’t want to get arrested in seaside resort towns like El Chapo did.

The US embassy in France has suggested that American tourists keep a low profile in France, especially given what’s been going on there. Don’t draw a lot of attention to yourself; and whatever you do, don’t join the protests. You want to keep a low profile and get home safely.

All right, so that’s low profile. But let me tell you what high profile means, real quick. You don’t usually say “keep” a high profile. But a person can be high-profile if that person is prominent. CEO’s, the leaders of big companies, have high-profile jobs; there’s a lot of attention on them, and they’re in the news a lot. Something that’s high-profile attracts a lot of attention. El Chapo’s trial in New York is a high-profile trial. Unlike most of the cases in those courtrooms, this one is in the news all the time. This is a high-profile case.

When two popular sports teams play each other, and a lot of people will be watching, that’s a high-profile game. The highest-profile game in the US is the Super Bowl—and not just for the players. The halftime show features a high-profile concert. It’s not confirmed yet, but it looks like the band Maroon 5 will get that high-profile gig this year.

So when you’re attracting a lot of attention, you’re in a high-profile position, but when you want to avoid attention, you want to keep a low profile.


That brings us to the end of the program. Thanks so much for being with us. Don’t be a stranger; stay in touch—I’m [email protected] and JR, the producer, is [email protected]. We love hearing from listeners, so keep the notes coming. We’ll be back on Thursday with the next episode of Plain English.

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Story: George H. W. Bush dies