Question

Updated on 4 Feb 2023

ttmto

4 February

Japanese

English (US)
English (UK)

Question about English (US)

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dongelev85

4 February

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English (US)

"Copying your neighbor's homework" means looking at the work done by the student at the desk next to yours and stealing their answers.

"Close enough for government work" is an idiom meaning "Not very close, but nobody cares." There is a stereotype that government workers almost never get fired and are not held to high standards.

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dongelev85

4 February

English (US)

"Copying your neighbor's homework" means looking at the work done by the student at the desk next to yours and stealing their answers.

"Close enough for government work" is an idiom meaning "Not very close, but nobody cares." There is a stereotype that government workers almost never get fired and are not held to high standards.

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ttmto

4 February

Japanese

Thank you!
I see, so the situation is that the writer is helping his friend's daughter with her homework (about the origin of the letter A) and copying her writing so her teacher doesn't notice? Is my understanding correct?

dongelev85

4 February

English (US)

@ttmto No. Copying homework is a metaphor here.

Each culture adapted the symbols of an older culture and changed them a little. This is how a picture of a cow's head eventually became the letter A. The writer is comparing this process to students inaccurately copying each other's homework.

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ttmto

4 February

Japanese

Ahh, I fully understand now. Thank you!

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@ttmto No. Copying homework is a metaphor here.Each culture adapted the symbols of an older culture and changed them a little. This is how a picture of a cow's head eventually became the letter A. The writer is comparing this process to students inaccurately copying each other's homework.

@ttmto No. Copying homework is a metaphor here.

Each culture adapted the symbols of an older culture and changed them a little. This is how a picture of a cow's head eventually became the letter A. The writer is comparing this process to students inaccurately copying each other's homework.