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NL888 Posted 12 years ago
Grammar

"The answer...is blowing in the wind"? Failed to understand this

Does ""The answer...is blowing in the wind" mean "wind blowing is the answer"?

Context:

Justices: Midwest states must slash wind-blown pollution

WASHINGTON — The question was who should pay for air pollution that crosses state lines. The answer, the Supreme Court ruled Tuesday, is blowing in the wind.
States in the Midwest and South whose polluted air flows north and east must comply with a federally imposed solution, a 6-2 majority of justices ruled.

MOre:
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2014/04/29/supreme-court-air-pollution-states/5657571/
  

Top answer

This is a reference to a famous line in a song by Bob Dylan: "The answer, my friend, is blowing in the wind". In this case, there is a literal assocation too, since air pollution literally blows in the wind. The meaning of the lyric is somewhat obscure (to me, anyway), but perhaps the author here doesn't mind too much what it means, just that he or she can make a play on these well-known words.

  • This is a reference to a famous line in a song by Bob Dylan: "The answer, my friend, is blowing in the wind".
  • In this case, there is a literal assocation too, since air pollution literally blows in the wind.
  • The meaning of the lyric is somewhat obscure (to me, anyway), but perhaps the author here doesn't mind too much what it means, just that he or she can make a play on these well-known words.
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1 Answers
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This is a reference to a famous line in a song by Bob Dylan: "The answer, my friend, is blowing in the wind". In this case, there is a literal assocation too, since air pollution literally blows in the wind. The meaning of the lyric is somewhat obscure (to me, anyway), but perhaps the author here doesn't mind too much what it means, just that he or she can make a play on these well-known words.

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