"Light" or "fair"

[Rachel Adams]

Hello.
Can I use "light"in my sentence?
'People with fair skin catch the sun easily.'

 

[GoesStation]

No.

 

[Rover_KE]

The original sentence is fine. [link]

 

[Charlie Bernstein]

Hello.
Can I use "light"in my sentence?
'People with fair skin sunburn easily.'

Yes, you can use fair, light, or pale.

We don't say "catch the sun." We say "sunburn" or "get sunburned."

 

[tedmc]

Yes, you can use fair, light, or pale.

We don't say "catch the sun." We say "sunburn" or "get sunburned."

That was what I said in my post which got deleted by Rover.

 

[probus]

I think we have a difference of dialects here. As a speaker of AmE who is also familiar with the Indian dialect, I was not familiar with the expression "catch the sun" in connection with skin exposure. Like Ted and Charlie, I would prefer "tan" or "get sunburn". But our BrE speakers seem to be fine with "catch the sun."

PS Maybe they feel they have to catch it because it's so rare in the UK.;-)

 

[Charlie Bernstein]

I think we have a difference of dialects here. As a speaker of AmE who is also familiar with the Indian dialect, I was not familiar with the expression "catch the sun" in connection with skin exposure. Like Ted and Charlie, I would prefer "tan" or "get sunburn". But our BrE speakers seem to be fine with "catch the sun."

PS Maybe they feel they have to catch it because it's so rare in the UK.;-)

I see.

In the US a tan and a burn are two different things. A tan is tan. A burn is red. And hurts. Hence the term burn.

 

[Skrej]

We do use the expression 'catch some sun', in AmE, just not 'catch the sun'. Similarly you might hear 'catch some rays' in AmE. All of them refer to intentionally basking in the sun, or simply enjoying the outdoors on a sunny day, though, not overexposure.

 

[Charlie Bernstein]

We do use the expression 'catch some sun', in AmE, just not 'catch the sun'. Similarly you might hear 'catch some rays' in AmE. All of them refer to intentionally basking in the sun, or simply enjoying the outdoors on a sunny day, though, not overexposure.

Absolutely!

And you're right, they would not fit Rachel's 'People with fair skin catch the sun easily.'

 

[Rover_KE]

...

We don't say "catch the sun." We say "sunburn" or "get sunburned."

That was what I said in my post which got deleted by Rover.

No, it wasn't.

You said 'People with fair skin get sunburn (not catch the sun) easily'.

 

[Rachel Adams]

We do use the expression 'catch some sun', in AmE, just not 'catch the sun'. Similarly you might hear 'catch some rays' in AmE. All of them refer to intentionally basking in the sun, or simply enjoying the outdoors on a sunny day, though, not overexposure.

I first heard it in the song Little Man by Cher and Sonny.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8fJ5xnGQ5Dg

 

[emsr2d2]

BrE uses "catch the sun" when referring to someone who has become a bit tanned but probably not intentionally (ie they weren't actually sunbathing). I saw a work colleague today and she looked quite tanned. I said "Wow, you've really caught the sun". She said "Yes, I did a15-mile bike ride this morning and then had a quick swim". (It's currently uncommonly hot in the south of the UK - over 30 degrees Celsius today and the same is forecast for the weekend.) Although she didn't set out to get a tan, simply being out in the sun on her bike and then briefly on the beach meant she "caught the sun". She was not sunburnt.

 

[Skrej]

I first heard it in the song Little Man by Cher and Sonny.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8fJ5xnGQ5Dg

The reference in the song has a completely different meaning. Depending upon your interpretation, it could mean that they can accomplish an impossible task as long as they're together, or that they as a couple will last forever.

There are likely other possible interpretations, but none of them have anything to do with accidental or intentional absorption of sunshine.

 

[Charlie Bernstein]

The name of the act was Sonny and Cher, not Cher and Sonny.

Remember, the language of songs and poems is often figurative. As Skrej says, the words "catch the sun" have nothing to do with sunbathing.

In the context of the song, what do you think they might mean?

 

[probus]

The name of the act was Sonny and Cher, not Cher and Sonny.

That is true, but was it justified? If either of them had any talent it was Cher in my opinion. Sonny got top billing only because he was male.

(And then he got his Darwin award )

 

[Rachel Adams]

The name of the act was Sonny and Cher, not Cher and Sonny.

Remember, the language of songs and poems is often figurative. As Skrej says, the words "catch the sun" have nothing to do with sunbathing.

In the context of the song, what do you think they might mean?

Sorry, are you asking me?

 

[Charlie Bernstein]

That is true, but was it justified? If either of them had any talent it was Cher in my opinion. Sonny got top billing only because he was male.

(And then he got his Darwin award )

Nonetheless.

 

[Charlie Bernstein]

Sorry, are you asking me?

Yes. In this song, what do you think those words might mean?

 

[Charlie Bernstein]

. . . (And then he got his Darwin award )

But around the Salton Sea, he's still Saint Sonny!

 

[Rachel Adams]

Yes. In this song, what do you think those words might mean?

I thought it means "we will stand until the sunrise" until catching the sun. Because it's a familiar feeling. When you hug someone dear it seems you could stand that way forever.