[lit-ideas] Re: "For ever and [a d]ay"
- From: "John McCreery" <john.mccreery@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Mon, 15 Oct 2007 10:53:47 +0900
On 10/15/07, Julie Krueger <juliereneb@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> Interesting. "Forever and a day" is one of the few colloquialisms which I
> have thought was fairly clear as an emphasis of the infinite duration of
> something .... not only forever, but beyond that, forever plus a day more
> ...
>
One of my favorite examples of this sort of phatic exaggeration, using
paradoxical language to drive home a feeling, is a Japanese expression
for working above and beyond the call of duty, literally translated
"120 percent."
This sort of thing is, by the way, a fairly common advertising
technique. I have myself been guilty of writing lines like, "To the
Best and Beyond," to describe Japanese automotive technology.
John
--
John McCreery
The Word Works, Ltd., Yokohama, JAPAN
Tel. +81-45-314-9324
http://www.wordworks.jp/
------------------------------------------------------------------
To change your Lit-Ideas settings (subscribe/unsub, vacation on/off,
digest on/off), visit www.andreas.com/faq-lit-ideas.html
Other related posts:
