Dave's ESL Cafe's Student Discussion Forums

[jasonlulu_2000]

However, there is some difference in lifestyle between city citizens and the country people. Almost 90 per cent of the population live in the fast-paced cities along the coast and has little more than a passing familiarity with the desert.

what does "has little more than a passing familiarity with the desert.

" mean?

Thanks

[devinvancouver]

If you have a 'passing familiarity' with something, it means you are only slightly familiar with it. So, you know about it, but you don't know it very well.

Think of it as a word like very, quite, pretty, or slightly, which expresses the degree of the word, but used in front of a noun (familiarity) instead of an adjective (familiar).

So if 'passing familiarity' is a degree of familiarity, then 'little more than' is just a bit more on the degree of familiarity. Think of it as a scale, and 'passing' is quite low on the scale. 'little more than' is a tiny bit higher on the scale.

Hope that isn't too confusing...
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[jasonlulu_2000]

thanks