With Golden Week here, it is an opportune time to look at some common English sayings that use the word ‘golden’.
a golden opportunity: An excellent opportunity that is not likely to be repeated.
- During Golden Week, John had a golden opportunity to do what he wanted because he was off work, but his wife had to work.
the golden rule: This refers to a saying of Jesus’ found in the Bible (Matthew 7:12, Luke 6:31). “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” It tells us that we should treat others the way we would like to be treated.
- Our Golden Week road trip was great because we all followed the golden rule.
silence is golden: A proverb that says silence is often good or desirable.
- For Golden Week we were able to get out of the city and enjoy some peace and quiet in the mountains. The silence was golden.
golden oldies: A song that was very popular in the past and is still enjoyed by many people.
- We had a lot of fun listening to golden oldies while we were driving to our relatives’ house during Golden Week.
the golden years: The years following one’s retirement (generally after the age of 65).
- Now that he has reached the golden years, he doesn’t need to take a vacation and fight the crowds during Golden Week.
the golden age of something: The golden age of a particular field of activity is a period of time during which it was very successful or of a very high quality.
- The golden age of overseas travel during Golden Week was in the late 1980s.
Erik