Dave's ESL Cafe's Student Discussion Forums

[missdaredevil]

Besides *ripping* traditional reggae tracks like a seasoned dancehall queen.....

What does that mean?

Thanks

[pugachevV]

Excellent, great (it's a bit dated now).

[Harmony]

Hi Miss D,

With respect to Pugachev, I'm going to add some more information because I don't think it's likely he's familiar with dancehall music.

In the context of modern music, *ripping* is a verb which typically refers to the act of saving song tracks from a CD to your computer's hard drive. However, in the article you quoted *ripping* means recording a track of a typical dancehall style mix of speaking and singing. This track is then combined with additional pre-recorded instrumental and vocal tracks to produce the end result.

[pugachevV]

Thanks harmony - I guess I'm a bit out of date myself!

[missdaredevil]

Thanks for such a detailed explanation.
Could you use *prime* in another sentence?

Thanks

[Bob S.]

The Marshall Plan primed the European economy for its post-war recovery.

Prime as a verb is often used in the metaphor "to prime a pump" (note the use of alliteration).
_________________
"It is impossible to speak in such a way that you cannot be misunderstood." -- Karl Popper

[Harmony]

OK Here we go. First I want to be sure to mention that *prime* has several meanings. This answer is limited to the meaning of the word *primed* as it was used in your original example.

Here are some quotes from the web with added explanations which I hope will help to make the meaning clearer:

The ultimate aim of the training week is to prime the team for the British Championships.
(The goal is to train the team rigorously so they will be prepared to play as well as they possibly can.)

A big win would bolster their spirits and prime the team for a conference tournament charge.
(The team would be mentally and emotionally prepared for the upcoming challenge.)

The word *primed* is typically used with *for* or *to*. When used in a positive sense it often refers to a state of preparedness or being in an advantageous position due to a combination of having the skills needed to excel, wise planning and/or favorable events which have created the opportunity for successful action.

*Primed* is often used in competitive situations such as business or sports. Here are some more examples:

When you share a common vision with remarkable people, instill knowledge and expertise, design processes and continually improve on them to assist in achieving that vision, you are primed for success. Then, if you unleash the energies of the people through empowerment and entrepreneurship, great things happen.
(You are as ready as you possibly can be to achieve your goals.)

Vancouver does not want to risk making changes when they're primed for their deepest playoff run since 1994.
(What they�ve been doing has served them well and they are eagerly anticipating continued success.)

In anticipation of the industry paradigm shift brought about by landmark 1996 federal legislation deregulating the telecommunications industry, Bell Atlantic had initiated changes to meet the challenge of moving employees from an entitlement mindset to an entrepreneurial workforce primed for change.
(Steps were taken to change the way the employees thought about their jobs so they would be psychologically prepared to cope with challenges the company would soon be facing.)

Here are examples in a negative context:

To put employees into leadership positions without proper and ongoing training establishes an environment primed for failure.
(Bad decisions create a situation where problems are likely to occur.)

If it takes ten years for repetitive strain injuries to set in, as Alan Hedge, professor of ergonomics at Cornell University, believes, teenagers who have been using computers since the age of six will be �primed to experience some injuries� as they age and continue using computers.
(Years of abusing the body will result in physical state that is highly susceptible to injury.)

He believes that if a person listens to that inner wisdom, that whisper of the heart, that second side then they will always be where they are supposed to be when they are supposed to be there. I am new to that way of thinking and there is a simplicity to it that seems to be primed for failure in this analytical world.
(A man whose beliefs cause him to ignore certain aspects of reality may be at risk of failing to achieve his goals.)

The meaning of this word is not easy to explain or understand! It may help to think of the meaning as having two components: #1 - preparation or one or more key factors and #2 - an opportunity, a challenge, or a likely result.

I've included a variety examples to try to cover the various contexts in which the word typically appears. I hope this will help to make the meaning clear because I don't have any more ideas!

Harmony