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Sat 9 Sep, 2006 07:47 pm
Could you tell me what the sentence means, please? Thanks!
We are all getting older if not wiser.
I'm not sure what part it is that you don't understand. Everyone grows (gets) older. Many assume that as one grows older, one should also gain in wisom. The sentence states that this is not necessarily so. Growing older is unavoidable; gowing wiser is an option. What's the problem?
Thank you very much,Merry Andrew.
Yes, we know that growing older is unavoidable and growing wiser is an option.
But the sentence seems to suggest that "if we are not growing wiser, we are all getting older" , which seems to make no sense. so my problem is why the author uses 'if' between "We are all getting older" and "not wiser".
Maybe "We are all getting older even if not wiser" is better. So what do you think of it? Thanks.
ddlddlee, it is quite obvious the sentence does not pertain to you.
Take a pill.
Yes, growing older doesn't necessarily mean wiser.
Meet exhibit A
You've mentioned that numerous times already.
Quote:We are all getting older if not wiser.
We all grow older.
Sometimes wisdom increases with age.
Sometimes it doesn't.
ddlddlee wrote:Thank you very much,Merry Andrew.
Yes, we know that growing older is unavoidable and growing wiser is an option.
But the sentence seems to suggest that "if we are not growing wiser, we are all getting older" , which seems to make no sense. so my problem is why the author uses 'if' between "We are all getting older" and "not wiser".
Maybe "We are all getting older even if not wiser" is better. So what do you think of it? Thanks.
It can be argued that your sentence is more polished than the original quoted. But both sentences are grammatically correct and express the same sentiment.
I'm reminded of a Pennsylvania Dutch saying (available on all sorts of tea towels and other tourist plunder):
We get too soon old, and too late smart.
Noddy24 wrote:I'm reminded of a Pennsylvania Dutch saying (available on all sorts of tea towels and other tourist plunder):
We get too soon old, and too late smart.
Ve get too soon oldt und too late schmahrt is the way I saw it in a little boutique in Pottstown, I think it was, or maybe Kutztown or Shoemakersville.
Merry Andrew--
You're absolutely right about the "phonetic" spelling. I have enough trouble writing accurate English without attempting dialect.
Do you remember the "traditional" hex signs that used to be painted on barns and are now sold as souvenirs? A pair of Dutchy brothers from Lancaster County up are experimenting with hex signs as crop circles. I know buckwheat is part of the agricultural palette.
I remember those signs well, Noddy. Interestingly, the nomenclature of these signs as "hex" signs was strictly Anglo. The Pensy Dutch themselves always insisted that the signs had no significance except a decorative one. But we -- the uninitiated -- wouldn't believe that there was no mystical significance to such fine artwork.
We WILL get older, but we might not get wiser. Getting older isn't our choice, while getting wiser is.
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