I would like to know the meaning of the next sentence.
It didn't get a whole season named for it for nothing!
A and B are seven year old twins.
A: You have to stay in bed all day?
B: Yeah, Mom says "Don't mess with the flu"!
A: It didn't get a whole season named for it for nothing!
It didn't get a whole season named for it for nothing!
It didn't get a whole season named for it for nothing!
Post actions:Re: It didn't get a whole season named for it for nothing!
Firstly, we think we know what is meant by the seasons (principal sense) - the hot one, the cold one, and the two quite lengthy transitional periods. However, this sequence is not a universal phenomenon - in parts of Australia they find it makes more sense to talk about 'the wet' and 'the dry', whilst in parts of Amazonia they seem to have 'the wet', 'the very wet', and 'the extremely wet'.
Broadening of the definition allows us to speak of other fairly predictable yearly periods:
the monsoon season / growing season / planting season //
the breeding season / mating or rutting season / lambing season //
the tourist season / cricket season / hunting season / racing season //
the silly season / the open season for ____ (idioms) ...
Of course, it only makes sense to use these terms where relevant (eg not usually Antarctica).
Seasonal diseases (in major population areas) include hay fever and flu, so we talk about the hay fever season (the other name for the pollen-induced variety is actually seasonal allergic rhinitis) and the flu season (see the fine article at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flu_season - but remember that Antarctica probably won't have one. Australia's is the reverse of the USA's; the UK does use the term, but it's not as common as in the US.
'It didn't get a whole season named for it for nothing!' is said partly to emphasise the non-trivial nature of flu ('It must be a serious disease [if we name something as important as a season after it].'), but partly for comic effect (titles are usually conferred in honour of some great - even magnificent - event etc).
Post actions:
Broadening of the definition allows us to speak of other fairly predictable yearly periods:
the monsoon season / growing season / planting season //
the breeding season / mating or rutting season / lambing season //
the tourist season / cricket season / hunting season / racing season //
the silly season / the open season for ____ (idioms) ...
Of course, it only makes sense to use these terms where relevant (eg not usually Antarctica).
Seasonal diseases (in major population areas) include hay fever and flu, so we talk about the hay fever season (the other name for the pollen-induced variety is actually seasonal allergic rhinitis) and the flu season (see the fine article at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flu_season - but remember that Antarctica probably won't have one. Australia's is the reverse of the USA's; the UK does use the term, but it's not as common as in the US.
'It didn't get a whole season named for it for nothing!' is said partly to emphasise the non-trivial nature of flu ('It must be a serious disease [if we name something as important as a season after it].'), but partly for comic effect (titles are usually conferred in honour of some great - even magnificent - event etc).
End of topic.