Dave's ESL Cafe's Student Discussion Forums

[hiromichi]

What kind of spirits are they? If they are homesick, are they sad?

"Jolee's sportive laughter sends spirits soaring like homesick angels."
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Hiromichi

[alan.es]

Some of these expressions don't really bear much analysis, do they? It does seem strange if you consider it too carefully.

It's probably true that the angels are sad because they are homesick but that's not the point. They are homesick - they are sad, maybe - but that makes them soar ( go up quickly ) as quickly as they can back to heaven.

The simile, the picturesque comparison, is that Jolee's laughter made everyone's ( all the people who hear it ) spirits rise just as fast as these (mythical ?) angels trying to get back home up in the skies (heaven?)!!

When Jolee laughed it made everyone around her happy too.

Analysing colloquial expressions can be interesting and informative but sometimes their origins are difficult to find. There are a number of web-sites that do try to show how the expessions first started.

[hiromichi]

alan.es, Thank you very much. Differences in ultural frameworks between languages are very interesting.
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Hiromichi

[alan.es]

:)pleased to be able to help. Normally I teach English to Spanish students and you're quite right that the colloquial expressions and how language is used does illustrate the difference in cultures.It's very interesting.