Reader question:

Please explain this sentence: “That was in the early 1980s, when flared trousers was still a thing.” Is “a thing” right?

My comments:

In this quote, the speaker talks about the 1980s when flared trousers was popular. Still popular, that is. Obviously since then, flared trousers have become more or less extinct. People have stopped wearing them. They’re not seen in the street today, like, at all.

Flared trousers, by the way, are trousers that are narrow at the knee but widens considerably towards the ankle, making the lower legs resemble the shape of a trumpet. In fact, in China, they are actually called that, trumpet trousers.

Anyways, flared trousers was indeed a thing in the past. I think its heyday, though brief, was in the late 1970s and early 80s when the country began to reform and open its doors to the outside world. So you can chalk it up as one of the achievements or consequences, depending on your point of view, of the opening-up policy.

But anyways, back to the lingual point which is really the only point of interest here, “a thing” is right, correct and good English, such as it sounds.

In colloquialism, when people say something is a thing, the mean to say that it’s something that’s (all of a sudden) becoming popular, fashionable or at least notable in some surprising or bewildering way.

In our example, flared trousers was a thing, a fad, something noticeable rather than something ordinary, something inconspicuous, something negligible.

In other words, flared trousers was something – as in, well, isn’t that something?

All right, all you really need to do is to read a few more examples to get a firm hold of something being described as a thing, meaning something out of the ordinary, something phenomenal.

In other words, like, El Nino, a phenomenon.

El Nino?

Never mind that. Here are media examples of things or events being, becoming or having been “a thing”:

1. Nothing like putting down an icy cold beer. Except, of course, achieving a higher state of being and eventual transcendence of the Self through the practice of yoga.

But what if you could do both, at the same time?

Yes: Beer yoga is here. After being enjoyed by Berlin hipsters, it’s now found its way to Australian shores—a land where beer’s most definitely a religious practice, at least as much as yoga. And not in the best way.

Germany's BierYoga A.K.A BeerYoga bills itself as the “marriage of two great loves—beer and yoga. Both are centuries-old therapies for mind, body and soul,” according to its website.

And if you think they’re just being cute, think again.

“BeerYoga is fun but it’s no joke,” founder and yogi Jhula writes. “We take the philosophies of yoga and pair it with the pleasure of beer-drinking to reach your highest level of consciousness.”

But even Jhula wasn't the first person to promote enlightenment through yoga under the influence of alcohol. The instructor told Ex Berliner they first saw it done at (American culture festival/desert apocalypse party shitshow) Burning Man.

But wherever it came from, it’s definitely now a thing, and a thing being marketed unironically Down Under.

Two special sessions of beer meets asana will take place in Sydney this weekend, where students can learn yoga poses involving “beer salutations” and balancing beer bottles on one's head—just watch out for bottle smashes.

The event page assures would-be attendees that no yoga experience is necessary. Just an “open mind and a love of beer.”

- ‘Beer yoga’ is a thing, now, and it's going international because, well, ‘Beer Yoga’, Mashable.com, January 18, 2017.

2. Red, white and rosé – those are the three colours of wine, right? Wrong. Not even taking into consideration some of the crazier ways wine can be coloured – blue wine anyone? – it turns out that orange wine is very much a thing in the wine-making world. What’s more, even though orange wine has been named the wine trend of 2017, it’s actually been around for centuries.

What even is orange wine?

Let’s start with a little basic wine science. Wine generally gets its colour from the skins of the grapes it is made with and depending on how long those skins stay in contact with the pressed ‘grape juice’ (we won’t get too technical here).

Red wine is generally made by crushing red grapes and leaving the skins in contact with the juice anywhere between a few hours to a hundred days or so. White wine is most often made with white grapes and the skins are removed immediately after crushing, or it can be made with red grapes which are crushed very lightly and great care is taken to avoid contact with the skins (these wines are usually called blanc de noir).

Based on this, you might have guessed that rosé wine is usually made by crushing red grapes and leaving the skin in contact for a really short period of time, just enough for them to give a nice pink hue to the liquid. Skins also give tannins, so that can be a factor in how long the skins are left in contact with both red and rosé wines.

So where does orange wine come in? Let’s rewind to white wine production and ask ourselves what might happen if we left the white grape skins in contact with the juice after crushing it. You got it. Orange wine.

- Orange Wine Is a Thing Now (Because Why Not?), TheCultureTrip.com, September 21, 2017.

3. LeBron James has become the face of the playoffs but the Lakers superstar is in danger of missing the postseason for the first time in 14 years.

The last time the playoffs were James-less was in 2004-05, when the Spurs reigned supreme, while the three-time champion has featured in the past eight NBA Finals.

James swapped the Cavaliers for the Lakers in the offseason — hoping to guide the iconic Los Angeles franchise to the playoffs for the first time in six years.

The 34-year-old, however, is facing one of his biggest challenges. Despite proclaiming he "”activated” his playoff intensity earlier than usual, the Lakers still find themselves three games adrift of the final postseason spot in the Western Conference.

With the season on the line, we take a look at what the world looked like in 2004-05, when James last missed the playoffs.

Brady had three Super Bowl rings with the Patriots

While James and the Cavs missed out on the playoffs with a 42-40 record in the east, Tom Brady and the Patriots celebrated another Super Bowl.

The Patriots edged the Eagles 24-21 in Jacksonville, where Paul McCartney performed during the halftime show at Alltel Stadium.

Brady was 23 of 33 for 236 yards and two touchdowns as he won a third ring in four years. This year, he claimed his record sixth Super Bowl crown.

Seattle SuperSonics were still a thing in the NBA

The 2004-05 campaign was the Seattle SuperSonics’ 38th season in the NBA before relocating and becoming the Oklahoma City Thunder in 2008.

During that season, the Sonics — led by Ray Allen — finished third in the Western Conference with 52 wins. They beat the Sacramento Kings 4-1 in the first round of the playoffs but fell to the Spurs, the eventual champions, in the conference semis.

NBA draft prospect Zion was five years old

Projected number one draft pick Zion Williamson is set to follow in the footsteps of James and take the NBA by storm. The North Carolina-born forward was just five years of age in 2005, when James' Cavaliers lost a tiebreaker for the eighth seed in the Eastern Conference to the Nets.

- Brady, SuperSonics and the iPod shuffle — the last time LeBron James missed the playoffs, SportingNews.com, February 26, 2019.

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About the author:

Zhang Xin is Trainer at chinadaily.com.cn. He has been with China Daily since 1988, when he graduated from Beijing Foreign Studies University. Write him at: zhangxin@chinadaily.com.cn, or raise a question for potential use in a future column.

（作者：張欣 編輯：丹妮）