Apr 21, 2020 14:27
4 yrs ago
41 viewers *
English term
doesn't time pass slowly
English
Other
Other
Reading
It's still my thirtieth birthday -- yes, doesn't time pass slowly when you're having fun?
It comes from All I Want by Margaret Johnson, Chapter 4.
I don't quite understand the meaning of this phrase. In fact, time does pass slowly when you're not having fun.
Or does the author mean something else?
It comes from All I Want by Margaret Johnson, Chapter 4.
I don't quite understand the meaning of this phrase. In fact, time does pass slowly when you're not having fun.
Or does the author mean something else?
Responses
+3
10 mins
Selected
time passes slowly when you're not having fun
The author is playing on the phrase "time flies when you're having fun".
Instead, by saying "doesn't time pass slowly when you're having fun" he's implying that he's not having fun and that time is therefore passing slowly. But by saying "when you're having fun" when he actually means that he's not having fun, he's being sarcastic.
Instead, by saying "doesn't time pass slowly when you're having fun" he's implying that he's not having fun and that time is therefore passing slowly. But by saying "when you're having fun" when he actually means that he's not having fun, he's being sarcastic.
Peer comment(s):
| agree |
philgoddard
: Yes, I think it must be sarcasm - presumably the context will confirm this. It is confusing, though.
53 mins
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Thanks Phil!
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| agree |
Tina Vonhof (X)
3 hrs
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Thanks Tina!
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| agree |
Dhiiraj
: Good explanation
1 day 21 hrs
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Thank you!
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4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer.
Comment: "Thank you very much. "
15 mins
Ali Sharifi
United States
United States
United States
I follow my binding words everywhere
Native in: Persian (Farsi) 
Works in: English to Persian (Farsi), Persian (Farsi) to English, French to Persian (Farsi), and 3 more.
When you have a good time you do not notice the passage of time.
Einstein says if you want to understand the theory of relativity compare the time a young man spends with a girl for an hour and it seems to him just a few minutes, with the time one spends sitting on a hot iron for a few seconds but it seems so long.
2 hrs
Yvonne Gallagher
Ireland
Ireland
Native in English
&
English
Works in field
Ireland
right word, right place. everytime
Native in: English (Variants: US, Canadian, Irish, UK)
Works in: French to English, Spanish to English, English, and 1 more.
Related KudoZ points
:
129
she is being sarcastic
The part I found strange here was "it's STILL my thirtieth birthday" so I went looking for the excerpt from the book to check the context. When it's literary context it's really necessary to read the previous and/or subsequent sentences. Since this is the opening line of Chap 4 the meaning becomes clear when reading further....
Yes, it's her 30th birthday and her boyfriend is treating her to a meal BUT she's feeling miserable and the day/evening seems interminable (so that explains the still". In other words, she's thinking: will this never end?)
The other thing that's making her miserable is that she has a crush on her boss (Brad) and wants to break up with her boyfriend (Barry) but can't bring herself to tell him this when he is being nice to her, getting the waiters to bring balloons and sing "Happy Birthday" to her thinking this will please her. But it's having the opposite effect.
CHAPTER FOUR
Talking Isn’t Always Easy
It’s still my thirtieth birthday - yes, doesn’t time pass slowly when you’re having fun? Barry has suggested we stay in this restaurant now, so here we are, sitting at a table for two with romantic music playing in the background. ..
This is how I’m feeling: Old. Fat. Foolish. Jealous.
You’ll probably be thinking that things can’t get any worse. If you are, then you’re quite wrong. Barry’s looking at me with a pleased kind of expression on his face.
the entire restaurant staff are walking towards me, smiling in just the same way Barry’s smiling. They stop a metre or so away from our table, all except one girl who’s holding a large bunch of balloons.
‘Happy birthday, Alex,’ she says, and ties the balloons to the back of my chair. Then she steps back to join the rest of the staff and they all start to sing. Very loudly.
‘Happy birthday to you. Happy birthday to you. Happy birthday, dear Alex. Happy birthday to you!’
The balloons surround my face: green, blue, yellow and red. I want to die.
Then, just when I think the nightmare’s over, one of the waiters ...shouts, .... ‘Today is Alex Faye’s thirtieth birthday! Thirty today! Three cheers for Alex!’
...I try to speak. I’m only able to whisper very very quietly. ‘Thank you,’ I say. ‘Thank you very much.’
I now feel old, fat, foolish, jealous and embarrassed.
Thank you Barry. Thank you life. Thank you very much.
...he has no idea how I feel at all....Barry has been my boyfriend for two years. Two years. And he has no idea at all that this is the worst day of my entire life.
Yes, it's her 30th birthday and her boyfriend is treating her to a meal BUT she's feeling miserable and the day/evening seems interminable (so that explains the still". In other words, she's thinking: will this never end?)
The other thing that's making her miserable is that she has a crush on her boss (Brad) and wants to break up with her boyfriend (Barry) but can't bring herself to tell him this when he is being nice to her, getting the waiters to bring balloons and sing "Happy Birthday" to her thinking this will please her. But it's having the opposite effect.
CHAPTER FOUR
Talking Isn’t Always Easy
It’s still my thirtieth birthday - yes, doesn’t time pass slowly when you’re having fun? Barry has suggested we stay in this restaurant now, so here we are, sitting at a table for two with romantic music playing in the background. ..
This is how I’m feeling: Old. Fat. Foolish. Jealous.
You’ll probably be thinking that things can’t get any worse. If you are, then you’re quite wrong. Barry’s looking at me with a pleased kind of expression on his face.
the entire restaurant staff are walking towards me, smiling in just the same way Barry’s smiling. They stop a metre or so away from our table, all except one girl who’s holding a large bunch of balloons.
‘Happy birthday, Alex,’ she says, and ties the balloons to the back of my chair. Then she steps back to join the rest of the staff and they all start to sing. Very loudly.
‘Happy birthday to you. Happy birthday to you. Happy birthday, dear Alex. Happy birthday to you!’
The balloons surround my face: green, blue, yellow and red. I want to die.
Then, just when I think the nightmare’s over, one of the waiters ...shouts, .... ‘Today is Alex Faye’s thirtieth birthday! Thirty today! Three cheers for Alex!’
...I try to speak. I’m only able to whisper very very quietly. ‘Thank you,’ I say. ‘Thank you very much.’
I now feel old, fat, foolish, jealous and embarrassed.
Thank you Barry. Thank you life. Thank you very much.
...he has no idea how I feel at all....Barry has been my boyfriend for two years. Two years. And he has no idea at all that this is the worst day of my entire life.
Peer comment(s):
| neutral |
philgoddard
: The context is useful, but Eda has already said that it's sarcasm.
14 mins
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Context is everything, in literature especially. You found it "confusing"!
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3 hrs
adel almergawy
Egypt
Egypt
Egypt
legal translator
Native in: Arabic (Variants: Egyptian, Saudi ) 
Works in: English to Arabic, Arabic to English, Arabic, and 1 more.
happy moments pass quickly and vice verse
hard times pass slowly
Reference comments
5 hrs
Reference:
Ref.
For example, the perceived passage of time can slow down when we’re doing something new, such as learning a challenging skill or going on vacation to an exotic locale.
Paradoxically, then, time is perceived to pass slowly in situations where there is almost nothing happening or a great deal is happening.
In other words, the complexity of the situation is either much higher or much lower than normal
Paradoxically, then, time is perceived to pass slowly in situations where there is almost nothing happening or a great deal is happening.
In other words, the complexity of the situation is either much higher or much lower than normal
Reference:
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-4137410/Research-reveals-time-fly-slow-down.html
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