A woman is 'wearing it thin' - song lyrics

On the opposite side of the wind
A woman is wearing it thin
The opposite side of her skin

More lyrics here.

I know what 'wear thin' means, yet I'm not sure if it works the same with 'it' here? What does 'wear something thin' normally mean? Also, do you think it's a play on the word 'thin-skinned', too?(I know, that smells of asking for interpretation, but I would just like to know if linguistically, you'd make the association.)

nyota said:

On the opposite side of the wind
A woman is wearing it thin
The opposite side of her skin

More lyrics here.

I know what 'wear thin' means, yet I'm not sure if it works the same with 'it' here? What does 'wear something thin' normally mean? Also, do you think it's a play on the word 'thin-skinned', too?(I know, that smells of asking for interpretation, but I would just like to know if linguistically, you'd make the association.)

Click to expand...

You could be right. Or not. :-D

freezeframe said:

You could be right. Or not. :-D

Click to expand...

uppydog:

I'll just go for something instrumental.

There is surprisingly (in my opinion) little evidence for "to wear something thin" being used. Would it be unnatural to talk about wearing a fabric thin?

nyota said:

uppydog:

I'll just go for something instrumental.

Click to expand...

Song lyrics can be both fun and really challenging even for native speakers. I wouldn't use this as a model for everyday English use but it is a great way to explore the language. Good luck though because it can be a pain!

SongMeanings | Lyrics | Oren Lavie - The Opposite Side Of The Sea

Fans will sometimes discuss meaning and interpretation on the above site.

Not a teacher.

SanMar said:

Song lyrics can be both fun and really challenging even for native speakers. I wouldn't use this as a model for everyday English use but it is a great way to explore the language. Good luck though because it can be a pain!

SongMeanings | Lyrics | Oren Lavie - The Opposite Side Of The Sea

Fans will sometimes discuss meaning and interpretation on the above site.

Not a teacher.

Click to expand...

I've been browsing various sites but haven't found much information to be honest (and that's a euphemism). Thing with lyrics is that I'm sometimes not sure if I lack language or interpretative skills. Probably both. But if I don't know the language, then I can forget everything else, hence my questions.

Since I see no immediate answers from NESs, I'll just assume the phrase's ambiguous to them, too.

And now I'll stop pestering you with lyrics




for now.