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ESL forum >
Ask for help > The meaning of quotes
The meaning of quotes
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avecor
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The meaning of quotes
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Hello! Please, can you help me with this quote. " "Friends are angels who lift us to our feet when our wings have trouble remembering how to fly. "Does it mean that they (friends) lift us only to OUR FEET or is it some other not literal meaning that i don �t get here. Please let me know! Using my logic to "to our feet" seems not really high but low, which for sure here would be wrong in this context. Can you please help me understand this quote and explain another logic of understanding this quote, maybe I �m not understanding the grammar or so. I �ll be grateful for some smart views on that. Thanks! |
10 Feb 2017
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redcamarocruiser
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It means that when we are knocked down (off our feet and lying hurt or injured on the ground), angels lift us and help us get back on our feet again (stand up again). We, like our friends, are angels (birds of a feather flock together). As angels,we would normally use our wings to get back up, but we need our angel friends to help us in this instance because we have, for the moment, forgotten how to fly.
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10 Feb 2017
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yanogator
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Excellent answer, Mary. The quote doesn �t make it clear that it is actually "back to our feet". The original really isn �t very well written, since being on our feet isn �t important for flying. I would add that maybe it is saying that sometimes getting back up on our feet is as high as we can get (when our wings have trouble remembering how to fly). Bruce |
10 Feb 2017
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avecor
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Thanks Bruce, I think I get it now. "To our feet" means, as you pointed out, back to our feet, they make us able again to walk...or so. I get the meaning right now. Thanks again. Do you think this is the only and correct meaning? In other place I found quote" Friends are angels who lift our feet (without prepostion TO) when our wings have ...this makes it a lot easier to understand. Don �t you think? Thanx, Meg |
11 Feb 2017
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avecor
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Thanks redcamarocruiser for your post too of course! I understood the overall meaninng I just couldn �g get passed over the "TO OUR FEET" but when you wrote "back to our feet" than it made so much easier to undertstand it. Thanks:) |
11 Feb 2017
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cunliffe
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Excellent answers from those two linguistically gifted angels.  I think this is a lovely metaphor. Our friends are indeed angels who, when we are down, lift us up and help us to our feet. Of course, flying for humans is only in the metaphorical sense: you say it of someone who is doing exceptionally well. We can say this of students and another saying to convey the same message is �You are on fire today! � This reminds me of that song by Bette Midler, �You are the wind beneath my wings �. Just a little meander from me! |
11 Feb 2017
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yanogator
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Well, Meg, as I said, the original isn �t very well written, and I don �t think the alternative you �ve seen is very good, either. Why are they lifting our feet and not the whole person? Bruce |
11 Feb 2017
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ldeloresmoore
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"Lift us to our feet" is also a metaphor for "supporting us emotionally when we are at a weak point in life" --- "Our wings have trouble remembering how to fly" is a metaphor for a not having confidence in our ability. |
12 Feb 2017
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cunliffe
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Yes and there are loads similar to these, i.e using references to body parts to indicate an emotional state or an attitude to life. You might be: standing on your own two feet, on your knees, unable to face your problems, getting to the heart of the matter, fingering the culprit, shouldering your responsibilities, having your back to the wall, standing tall.... Maybe a worksheet is in order
Lifts you to your feet.... or knocks you to your knees... quite standard ordinary English. Just seen this example.
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12 Feb 2017
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