I found it in a book, sir. It goes: 'Do you protest that there aren't any genes for behaviour? You are still wrecked among heathen dreams'. It's from a book by Richard Dawkins, sir A couple of similar contexts can be found on Google.
The meaning is absolutely clear, but I'm worried about the phrase's 'status' (idiom?) and possible connotations.
I found it in a book, sir. It goes: 'Do you protest that there aren't any genes for behaviour? You are still wrecked among heathen dreams'. It's from a book by Richard Dawkins, sir A couple of similar contexts can be found on Google.
The meaning is absolutely clear, but I'm worried about the phrase's 'status' (idiom?) and possible connotations.
Hello Judge Brybe,
Please note that a great number of us here are not male, including the person who first responded to you, so using "sir" as a form of address is not appropriate.
In fact, you don't need to use any for of address at all.
I have never heard or seen that particular phrase before either, so I think you can say it's not a well-known idiom, if it's an idiom at all.
Thank you very much indeed! Well, now that I know it is a Yeats quote, I would not say the meaning of the line is absolutely clear, Yeats tends to be an obscure author at times. Still, at least, I do seem to get Dawkins' meaning alright.