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afsane
Hi... What does this phrase mean? "should auld acquaintance be forget"
I read in wikipedia that it's the part of a poem named auld lang syne that is sung to celebrate the new year but what does it mean hear?
Now this is a kill
I've been looking forward to
for a long time.
You're the one who started
this all, so many years ago.
Should auld acquaintance
be forgot?
- No, no, but--
- It's a rhetorical question.
Dec 17, 2012 4:57 PM
Answers · 5
1
It sounds as if the speaker is talking to an enemy whom he has wished to kill for a long time.
"Auld aquaintance" can be translated to "old aquaintance", or someone you have known for a long time but probably is not a friend.
So, the speaker is asking himself if he should simply forget this person, but answers saying "No," and that the question doesn't even actually need a response because the answer is so obviously "no".
December 17, 2012
Thank you:)
December 17, 2012
right gude = right good or very good; willy waught = warming drink (whisky?). Another more questions on 18th century Scots dialect ? Robert Burns is my favourite poet. Try reading 'For a'that' http://www.robertburns.org/works/496.shtml
December 17, 2012
Thank you!
I have trouble with what you said :) I really didn't get it! 'And we’ll tak a right gude-willy waught'?!
December 17, 2012
Yes it's a rhetorical question, with the rhetorical answer being no. It means Should old friends be forgotten, just because it was long ago? I thought you would have had more trouble with 'And we’ll tak a right gude-willy waught'.
December 17, 2012
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afsane
Language Skills
English, Persian (Farsi)
Learning Language
English
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