go sort of on all cylinders with both of these
hi there.
whats meanig of" go sort of on all cylinders with both of these" this sentence? and both refers to what?

I’m not sure why my natural happiness does [exist]. I’m not one
of the blue-eyed, optimistic people whom William James speaks about.
But there is a lot that I am very grateful for and to be happy about. I’ve
been lucky enough to be in good health, and to have friends and
students. I love my work, and I love writing, and for the moment, I’m
still able to go sort of on all cylinders with both of these.

Question

go sort of on all cylinders with both of these
hi there.
whats meanig of" go sort of on all cylinders with both of these" this sentence? and both refers to what?

I’m not sure why my natural happiness does [exist]. I’m not one
of the blue-eyed, optimistic people whom William James speaks about.
But there is a lot that I am very grateful for and to be happy about. I’ve
been lucky enough to be in good health, and to have friends and
students. I love my work, and I love writing, and for the moment, I’m
still able to go sort of on all cylinders with both of these.

Answer

"On all cylinders" = 100%. Without any problems.
"Sort of on all cyclinders" = almost 100%. There are some problems, but he is close to working at full capacity
"Both of these" = both his work and his writting.

The classic saying in English is "Going on all cylinders!" He is altering this cliched saying by adding "sort of" to show that he isn't exactly at 100%

Hope this helps.

Answer

In my opinion "sort of on all cylinders" has no literal meaning to the sentence but you can put it in contest from the idea of that of (an internal combustion engine)  having all its cylinders working and thus providing the maximum amount of power.  In this case the narrator is sort of enjoying life with both his work and writing.

Answer

This sentence has a metaphorical meaning. Very literary.  Basically what he is saying is,  that he can work on both his passions full power.   The power is depicted through cylinders which are part of a machine.

Answer

I don't believe I have heard this phrase before in particular, but it seems to mean that this person's work and their writing are daily motivations for them, and they put most of their energy into those two areas.

Answers · 6

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