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Jobb Posted 22 years ago
Grammar

All the world's a stage(Shakespeare)

All the world's a stage(Shakespeare)

Does "world's" mean "world is"?

If so, I made the sentence below according to a Chinese idiom:

All the nation's a chess.

Does it make sense?
  

Top answer

Hi Jobb, Yes, all the world is a stage and all the men and women in it are merely players. We perform our roles and then we die. 'Chess' is uncountable; it is the name of the game.

  • Hi Jobb, Yes, all the world is a stage and all the men and women in it are merely players.
  • We perform our roles and then we die.
  • 'Chess' is uncountable; it is the name of the game.
  • Its counter is 'game"-- one game of chess, two chess games, etc.
  • 'All the nation is a game of chess' does not make sense to me, because the nation is just the entity.
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4 Answers
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Hi Jobb,

Yes, all the world is a stage and all the men and women in it are merely players. We perform our roles and then we die.

'Chess' is uncountable; it is the name of the game. Its counter is 'game"-- one game of chess, two chess games, etc.

'All the nation is a game of chess' does not make sense to me, because the nation is just the entity. Are you trying to
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In China, especially in the day of Chinese dictator Mao, the saying "all the nation is a game of chess" prevailed. It referred to every man in the nation was a chessman, who had to obey the order from the central government -- actually to obey the order from Mao, so that "China" would act as a well-trained army and win any battle.
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Interesting, Jobb-- and probably a saying that also made it into the western press in those days, but I just missed it. I'm not very politically aware. Thanks for explaining.

MM
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Cf '****' imagery in English, e.g. 'only a **** in their game'.

This usually carries negative connotations.

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