 JKBelieve wrote: |
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I found this sentence in an article and found it very strange...
'Time was you could tell the urban refugees in places like this: corporate achievers who quit the rat race to open a bed and breakfast or a candle shop.'
the highlighted parts are confusing me especially the whole 'time was...' thing
Thanx ^^
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It's the same as "there was a time when".
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A rat race is a term used for an endless, self-defeating or pointless pursuit. It conjures up the image of the futile efforts of a lab rat trying to escape whilst running around a maze or in a wheel. In an analogy to the modern city, many rats in a single maze run around making a lots of noise bumping into each other, but ultimately achieve nothing (meaningful) either collectively or individually.
The rat race is a term often used to describe work, particularly excessive work; in general terms, if one works, one is in the rat race. This terminology contains implications that many people see work as a seemingly endless pursuit with little reward or purpose. Not all workers feel like this. It is the perceived Conventional Wisdom, for example, that those who work for themselves are generally happier at work
More at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rat_race