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| chenshujian Diglot Senior Member ChinaRegistered users can see my Skype Name Joined 5451 days ago 122 posts - 139 votes  Speaks: Mandarin*, English Studies: French | Message 1 of 5 14 March 2012 at 3:27am | IP Logged |
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1.There's no silver bullet for avoiding spikes.
2.But we can't just drill our way out of this problem. 3. We have to pursue an all-of-the-above strategy that helps develop every source of American energy. what are the meanings of "no silver bullet for spikes", "drill our way out of..." and "an all-of-the-above" strategy? Thanks! 1 person has voted this message useful | |
| Haksaeng Senior Member Korea, South Joined 6199 days ago 166 posts - 250 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Korean, Arabic (Levantine) | Message 2 of 5 14 March 2012 at 4:16am | IP Logged |
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A silver bullet is a perfect, magical solution. In folklore, a silver bullet could kill werewolves or vampires. Lone Ranger used silver bullets. "There's no silver bullet" means we will not find one simple solution to instantly solve the problem.
"Can't drill our way out" has a similar meaning. We can't solve it using brute force. Think of mining, drilling a way through rock. It means that we can't force a solution. (This phrase can relate to any problem, but it is used often in discussions about energy independence, where it means literally that drilling for oil will not solve the energy problem, but the phrase can be used metaphorically in other situations that do not involve actual drilling) "All of the above" refers to multiple choice opinion polls or test questions, for which there is a list of answers or responses that can be selected, the final choice being "all of the above." So an "all-of-the-above" strategy means, again, that there is not one solution, but that the solution will involve multiple responses, or several approaches. 2 persons have voted this message useful | |
| fiziwig Senior Member United States Joined 4866 days ago 297 posts - 618 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Spanish | Message 3 of 5 14 March 2012 at 6:34pm | IP Logged |
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I have only heard number 2 used in specific references to the rising price of oil, but it wouldn't surprise me to see it extended to areas beyond the energy crisis. We English speakers do love to bend, fold and mutilate our language, often making it hard for others to understand.
2 persons have voted this message useful | |
| PillowRock Groupie United States Joined 4735 days ago 87 posts - 151 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Spanish | Message 4 of 5 14 March 2012 at 7:33pm | IP Logged |
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In the first sentence, "silver bullet" and "spikes" are two separate things; not part of the same idiom. Haksaeng covered the "silver bullet" portion. The "spike" (if I'm inferring the context correctly) refers to a sudden, sharp increase in prices.
For the "can't drill our way out" sentence, the metaphoric interpretation that Haksaeng gave is correct and it works in that sentence. However, if the context is energy prices and policy then it may have been intended in a more literal way. In that context it could well mean "we can't fix the problem by simply drilling more oil wells". Edited by PillowRock on 14 March 2012 at 7:33pm 2 persons have voted this message useful | |
| chenshujian Diglot Senior Member ChinaRegistered users can see my Skype Name Joined 5451 days ago 122 posts - 139 votes Speaks: Mandarin*, English Studies: French | Message 5 of 5 15 March 2012 at 3:14am | IP Logged |
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Thank you guys. Actually these 3 sentences were from Obama's Weekly Address of White House.
And yup, it's talking about energy and oil. 1 person has voted this message useful |
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