Suppose two places are separated by a strait. And there is one singer who is famous in both places. Can we say "he is famous across the strait"? Or do we have to say "he is famous on both sides of the strait"?
I'd appreciate your help.
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2"Famous across the strait" would mean "famous on the other side of the strait". Your second option is the correct choice.– P. E. Dant Reinstate MonicaCommented Jul 26, 2017 at 22:35
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1@P.E.Dant I'm inclined to agree, though you could be famous "across the country" or "across the globe," which would mean "throughout," not "on the other side of." Still, "across the ocean" or "across the pond" typically means "on the other side of" the ocean/pond. Maybe it's a water versus land thing? I'm a bit hesitant to call that a rule, though; never really thought of it until now.– cjl750Commented Jul 27, 2017 at 0:12
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1@cjl750 If "famous across the strait" were analogous to "famous across the country", the person would have to be famous amongst all the people who live on the water! (Or in it, I guess.)– P. E. Dant Reinstate MonicaCommented Jul 27, 2017 at 0:48
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A "strait" is generally a fairly narrow body of water. Being famous "on both sides of the strait" doesn't sound particularly special in this day and age, when it's common for people to travel hundreds of kilometers every day. So unless you intend it to be ironic, it's not something I would say.– AndrewCommented Jul 27, 2017 at 4:42
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He could be famous across an archipelago and across the ages.– TimRCommented Jul 27, 2017 at 11:46
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1 Answer
When the noun refers to a divide, as strait does, across is deictic and means "on the other side of the {noun}".
He is famous across the pond but a nobody here.
The shop you're looking for is across the street.
When the noun does not refer to a divide but to an expanse, then across indicates a crossing or traversing of the expanse.
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I like the divide vs expanse phrasing here. The archipelago example you gave above shows the water vs land option wasn't bulletproof. Though you could probably edit this a bit more. Technically you never answer OP's question...– cjl750Commented Jul 27, 2017 at 19:58
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"technically"? I beg to differ. "Suppose two places are separated by a strait", OP says. "And there is one singer who is famous in both places". Technically, OP never makes clear what he wants to say, but we infer that he wants to say not only a partial truth but the whole truth. OP can say "He is famous across the strait", but that's only one of the places where he is famous.– TimRCommented Jul 27, 2017 at 20:20
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I think you are reading into things way too much. Singer is famous on both sides of the straight. OP wants to know how to communicate that idea. The answer is that, no, he can't say "across the straight," otherwise he'd be only telling a partial truth, as you say. There's no reason to guess that OP would deliberately want to use the phrase that is only half correct unless he specifically says so.– cjl750Commented Jul 27, 2017 at 20:34
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Exactly, that's the reasonable thing to surmise from his question, and I'm not reading anything into his question. You're reading way too much into my comment :)– TimRCommented Jul 27, 2017 at 21:50
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I guess my point is just that you could add a summary sentence at the end that says, given the info you just explained above, the answer to his question is "no you can't say across, you have to say 'on both sides of'." That would be the answer to the actual question; the rest is just explanation.– cjl750Commented Jul 27, 2017 at 21:54