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Joeviee Posted 20 years ago
Grammar

Seek explanations

Hi,

This is an excerpt from an article on Merriam Webster Online. Could anyone explain to me what the author trying to say in the article?

"We've come to accept that time may or may not be on the side of the Rolling Stones, that The Who's generation may not all die before they get old, and that the remaining Beatles may well find themselves struggling with love at 64. But can we make our peace with the notion that the bikini—that symbol of summer—is itself entering its seventh decade?"

Are those highlighted words idiomatic expression?

Thanks.
  

Top answer

No, The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, and The Who are all names of bands. The Rolling Stones had a song called "Time is on My Side", The Who sang "My Generation" and one of the lines was "Hope I die before I get old" and The Beatles sang the song "When I'm 64". The writer of the above extract is saying that all the members of the above bands are either old or dead, so time affects all of us.

— Milky

  • No, The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, and The Who are all names of bands.
  • The Rolling Stones had a song called "Time is on My Side", The Who sang "My Generation" and one of the lines was "Hope I die before I get old" and The Beatles sang the song "When I'm 64".
  • The writer of the above extract is saying that all the members of the above bands are either old or dead, so time affects all of us.
  • But, the modern Bikini appeared in 1946 and is still popular today, so it has not really been affected by time.
  • (edited by mod to remove quote of original post.
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10 Answers
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No, The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, and The Who are all names of bands. The Rolling Stones had a song called "Time is on My Side", The Who sang "My Generation" and one of the lines was "Hope I die before I get old" and The Beatles sang the song "When I'm 64". The writer of the above extract is saying that all the members of the above bands are either old or dead, so time af
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Oh I see. I always come across articles or jokes which quoted things that popular people said, did or sang which I don't understand most of the time. Is that a form of culture in the writing style of most westerners? If yes, won't you afraid that your readers might not know what exactly you are trying to say? I'm just a bit curious:)
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Well, if I quoted a novel that I wasn't pretty sure was very widely read, I would be taking a big chance that most people would miss what I was trying to say. But the Stones, the Who, and the Beatles, as well as the songs being referred to, are just SO well known that the author (clearly a Westerner) knew that other Western readers would know immediately what he meant. Paul McCartney, who sang abo
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I think this is part of the beauty and attraction of learning a foreign language, for you not only learn to communicate in a new language but also to understand and discover a new culture. I am pretty sure that Chinese literature and newspapers do have lots of historical and cultural references or anecdotes that non-Chinese readers well versed in the language would need to kn
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Is that a form of culture in the writing style of most westerners?

In the sense that no writer writes in a cultural vacuum, yes, it is part of the writing style -- although style is probably the wrong word. Writers all over the world write for readers of their native language. There are numerous elements in Kenyan writing that are only immediately understandab
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I guess it depends who one is writing for. Writers musn't assume that everyone will understand the subtleties of everything they write, but contra to that, they shouldn't avoid such writing just to please the masses. It's very much a trial and error situation when writing and it is often difficult to reach all audiences. The extract you provided above is a case in point. Not only does the writer
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MilkyWriters musn't assume that everyone will understand the subtleties of everything they write, but contra to that, they shouldn't avoid such writing just to please the masses. It's very much a trial and error situation when writing and it is often difficult to reach all audiences. The extract you provided above is a case in point. Not only does the writer risk not comm
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<I agree with what you have said. Now that I know The Beatles, Rolling Stones and The Who are once famous band but I still find it hard to grasp the gist of the whole passage the writer trying to say without looking at the explanation you provided earlier >

I understand, but what to do about it?
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MilkyI understand, but what to do about it?

Post it on EF and get more opinions from NS. Dictionary won't help for this kind of question, I'm too busy to go for English class. What else can I do beside post it on EF?

What's your suggestion?
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I suggest nothing more than what you are doing.
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