frequency

English translation: wavelength

00:26 Oct 6, 2016

English language (monolingual) [PRO]
Art/Literary - Poetry & Literature / short story 1/3 by R Brautigan

English term or phrase: frequency

We lived in a poor part of town where the streets weren’t paved. The street was nothing more than a big mud puddle that you had to walk around. The street was of no use to cars anymore. They travelled on a different frequency where asphalt and gravel were more sympathetic.

I would like to understand exactly, what does the word "frequency" means. Can it be used simply as a "road"? Or is it meant as a "wavelength" in a sense that the people owning cars would not pass through such neighbourhood and are on a completely different level - to emphasise the destitution of the lives of the three protagonists.

Anna Zahorska KudoZ activity Questions: 60 (none open) (1 without valid answers) (4 closed without grading) Answers: 14 United Kingdom
Local time: 15:07

Selected answer:wavelength

Explanation:
Your second suggestion is correct. It's a nice way of saying that they're in a completely different universe and never the twain shall meet.

Selected response from:

philgoddard
United States

Grading comment

Thank you
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer

SUMMARY OF ALL EXPLANATIONS PROVIDED

4 +12

wavelength

philgoddard

4 -2

crowd

Juan Arturo Blackmore Zerón

Answers

1 hr confidence:

peer agreement (net): +12

wavelength

Explanation:
Your second suggestion is correct. It's a nice way of saying that they're in a completely different universe and never the twain shall meet.

philgoddard
United States
Native speaker of: English
PRO pts in category: 50

Grading comment

Thank you

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)

agree

JohnMcDove

7 mins

agree

Vivian Melo: I agree.

45 mins

agree

eliamaury: Agree

2 hrs

agree

Margarida Martins Costelha

5 hrs

agree

Jack Doughty

5 hrs

agree

Lindsay Spratt

5 hrs

agree

Charles Davis: Perhaps the implicit allusion is being tuned to different radio stations, living in different programmes. Being on a different wavelength tends to imply not understanding each other. (I mean this may be might be why "frequency" has been used.)

6 hrs

agree

Terry Richards: Of course, from an engineering POV, wavelength is just one over frequency :) But the allusion is that the (wealthier) people in cars do not interact with this (poor) part of town.

7 hrs

agree

writeaway: the first (and only) thing that came to mind the minute I saw it

7 hrs

agree

Yvonne Gallagher

9 hrs

agree

Yasutomo Kanazawa

9 hrs

agree

acetran

12 hrs

1 hr confidence:

peer agreement (net): -2

crowd

Explanation:
They travelled on a different crowd.

Juan Arturo Blackmore Zerón
Mexico
Local time: 09:07
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: Spanish

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frequency

English translation: wavelength

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