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meaning of "Better off doing smth"



 
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ESL Forums | English Vocabulary, Grammar and Idioms
gerund or noun | Expression: 'As he walked, water splashed on him uo to his knees.'
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meaning of "Better off doing smth" #1 (permalink) Mon Apr 16, 2007 19:09 pm   meaning of "Better off doing smth"
 

Hey everybody !!

Could you help me figure this lyric out:

Hey, everyone, listen up, your attention if you please
We wanna give you a warning
'Cause I found out this morning
About a dangerous, insidious computer virus
If you should get it, an email with the subject, 'stinky cheese'
Better off protecting your chances
Under no circumstances, should you open it
Or else it will


Particulary, I cant come up with the idea what the line in bold means...
Could you tell me (or refer me to some resourse where it is explained) what 1. better off doing something and 2. protect one's chances mean

Thank you in advance.
Lost_Soul
I'm a Communicator ;-)


Joined: 15 Sep 2006
Posts: 1861
Location: South Park, Colorado, USA

meaning of "Better off doing smth" #2 (permalink) Mon Apr 16, 2007 19:40 pm   meaning of "Better off doing smth"
 

Hi LS

Keep in mind that lyrics often use some odd language simply to get the rhyme or beat that is desired.

That said, if I say "You are better off deleting the e-mail attachment" that means 'you will be safer/it will be better for you if you delete the attachment'.

As I see it, the word 'chances' was used mainly because it rhymes with 'circumstances' -- not because it makes a lot of sense. But, if I had to guess what the song-writer had in mind, then I'd guess that 'protecting your chances' is supposed to mean something similar to 'protect your luck'.
Yankee
I'm a Communicator ;-)


Joined: 16 Apr 2006
Posts: 8265
Location: USA

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gerund or noun | Expression: 'As he walked, water splashed on him uo to his knees.'
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