Comment on Happy Birthday
Cryophilia@lemmy.world 3 weeks agoWe refer to moving through time as “killing” time or as “losing” time, in English we don’t tend to think of the past as something we currently have.
Exactly! In English! Which this person does not know!
What’s the meaning of “pulling your leg” vs the literal definition?
BlackDragon@slrpnk.net 3 weeks ago
You seem to be getting pretty confused here. We’re talking about the literal meanings, that is to say the ones that someone who doesn’t have a strong grasp of English should know. Metaphors and idioms and so on are famously difficult for those without a strong grasp on the language, but I am arguing that this is not one of those. This is a phrase with a straightforward literal meaning, unlike such phrases as “pulling your leg.”
Cryophilia@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
Obviously not the case, since you had to use the phrase “in English, what we mean is…” You had to give a cultural context.