Reader question:

Please explain “sold”, as in this sentence: He has read the book many times and watched the movie even more and is completely sold on both.

My comments:

For someone to be sold on an idea is for him to be convinced of its merit. In our example, “he” has read “the book” many times and watched its movie adaptation and thinks both are excellent.

Completely sold means he’s totally convinced, has zero reservations, and is all in – in terms of praise or support.

In other words, he has nothing negative to say about either.

In colloquialism, people say they’re sold when they’re convinced and have made up their mind.

Literally, when something is bought and sold, a transaction is complete and if we liken an idea, proposal or philosophy to a commodity, we’ll readily be able to understand the expression of someone being sold, or sold on something.

Say someone sells you two apples for fifty cents, and then you, in passive speech, are sold two apples. In similar fashion, if you’re sold on an idea, you, also metaphorically speaking, buy it.

Or, as they also say, you buy in, as if you’ve decided to BUY all available shares IN a business venture.

In other words, you’re all in, ready to risk all your money on the project.

All right and no further ado lest we complicate matters unnecessarily, let’s proceed to read a few media examples of people being sold or, for that matter, not being sold on something solid or metaphysical:

1. Insane. Crazy. Outrageous.

That’s how skeptics are describing a gutsy plan to ease congestion along frenetic Young Circle, where Federal Highway merges with Hollywood Boulevard in one of the most car-clogged gateways to Hollywood.

The novel concept, first pitched by consultant Ian Lockwood two years ago, would make Hollywood the only city in the world with a giant two-way traffic circle. Experts say the redesign, if it gets approved, would actually reduce accidents in fender-bender prone Young Circle.

The proposal — which would take six years and cost up to $20 million — would replace the circle’s seven stoplights with five roundabouts.

Today, traffic flows in one direction around the circle. The new plan would allow for two-way traffic, with cars in the outer lanes traveling counterclockwise as they do now and cars in the innermost lanes traveling clockwise.

Proponents say it could be just what Hollywood needs to improve traffic flow on Young Circle and bring more people downtown.

But not everyone is sold on the plan.

“To me, it’s another stupid idea,” says resident Beverly Grimm.

Jimmy Sklavenitis, owner of the Greek Joint Kitchen & Bar in downtown Hollywood, questions the wisdom of introducing two-way traffic on an enormous rotary that already confuses drivers.

“People drive around the circle now and get lost,” he said. “It doesn’t sound like a good idea.”

- Hollywood may have a fix for its craziest intersection, Sun-Sentinel.com, May 02, 2019.

2. It wasn’t the way Namibia and Canada wanted to end long losing streaks at the Rugby World Cup.

They were gutted but understanding when their Pool B game in Kamaishi was canceled by World Rugby six hours before the scheduled start on Sunday because of flooding and landslides near the stadium caused by Typhoon Hagibis.

It’s just, both were confident of beating the other, and they will have to wait four more years.

In a pool with three-time champion New Zealand, two-time champion South Africa, and Italy, Namibia targeted Canada to stop a record 22-loss streak in Rugby World Cups over the last 20 years.

Outgoing Namibia coach Phil Davies was happy to take the two points they received for a default draw for the cancellation.

“We gained one point in the last World Cup, and this year we’ve gained two,” Davies said. “Statistically we’ve improved.”

Canada was on a 10-match winless run in the tournament dating to 2011. The Canadians put a ring around this match after becoming the last team to qualify 11 months ago.

“It is a bit of an empty feeling,” Canada coach Kingsley Jones said. “I feel the team’s grown, but we haven’t actually been able to measure our growth. The opposition were about the same level as us. We wanted to measure ourselves here.

“I believe we would have won today. That would have given us a sense of an outcome. This feels like there’s no outcome at the moment. It’s a bit raw.”

Davies said the cancellation was logical: “I’ve never seen so much rain — and being from Wales we see a lot of rain — but it’s been phenomenal.”

Davies said he was sold on Namibia’s amateur ethos but professional attitude when he turned up at scrum training at 5:30 a.m. four years ago.

“The amount of commitment and effort they’ve put in over the last four years has been monumental, phenomenal,” he said. “The last two World Cups have brought pride, passion and respect to Namibian rugby and built on the legacies of the previous four World Cups. The players have to take huge credit for that.”

- Namibia, Canada rue missed shot at rare Rugby World Cup win, AP, October 13, 2019.

3. It was a hunt that played out like so many.

Ainsley McGinty, 8, of Madison was hunting with her father, Chad McGinty, in Choctaw County. A doe walked into the food plot in front of them about 4 p.m. The deer stood broadside at 50 yards and Ainsley put the crosshairs of her rifle scope on the deer's chest and fired. Her first deer went down.

However, getting to that point was a challenge. Firearms were new to Ainsley and seeing through a scope was a frustrating task.

“My daughter had never shot firearms up until this year,” McGinty said. “The gun fit her fine.

“She was able to get on the scope and the gun just fine, but she would tell me, ‘I see it, but now it’s black.’ She would get the crosshairs and then they would fade away.”

McGinty wasn’t sure what was causing the problem. He said it could be that she is a new shooter or that she wears glasses. Whatever the problem was, McGinty had to solve it.

McGinty purchased an adapter that attaches a smartphone to a rifle scope. Once set up, it allows the shooter to look through the scope using a phone’s screen in photo or video mode. It was the ticket to success.

“I bought it and she was sold on it,” McGinty said. “It’s the ease of use with a new shooter — getting the crosshairs lined up and shoot by themselves. With this, she doesn’t have a problem — they’re there.”

As far as shooting a rifle with or without a smartphone goes, McGinty said nothing changes.

“When I sighted the gun in I shot it without the phone,” McGinty said. “After I set it up I shot it with the phone on it and it was the same point of impact. It doesn’t affect anything as far as the point of impact on the scope.”

- ‘She was sold on it.’ How smartphones are helping hunters bag deer in Mississippi, ClarionLedger.com, December 14, 2018.

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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）