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I found the text below on the internet and I'm confused about what the expression "give or take a page or two" means in context. I assume that the first part of the sentence, i.e. "at the pace of about two pages a year", means that he can't write more than that many pages per year, but I just can't decipher the meaning of the second part, that is, the expression mentioned in the title. Here is the text in question:

Dear J.

We've gotten so many inquiries about the song "Dear J." (offered as a bonus track on new record Meant to Be) that we decided to post a little something on the topic :-)

First, yes, it's true. I was a teen-age runaway. I'm not advocating it for troubled teens today, but this was a simpler time (the '80s!) and I had my reasons. I'm currently working on a novel on the topic (at the pace of about two pages a year, give or take a page or two), so maybe someday a more detailed explanation will be available.

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"Give or take" means "plus or minus." Therefore, the person is writing between no and four pages a year.

Given that novels are hundreds of pages, it's a humorous way of saying that he's making some stabs at writing a novel but not getting far.

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  • Awesome! Thanks a lot.
    – Itamar
    Commented Jun 11 at 2:51
  • I think the strong implication is it's only give or take because that's the set phrase. In reality, he means it's always take, with the amount nearly always two - most years he writes nothing, but sometimes he writes a page (i.e. - he only writes another page every few years).
    – FumbleFingers
    Commented Jun 11 at 3:16
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"Give or take" means roughly "plus or minus" - see the Collins dictionary entry. Here the pace described is technically "between zero and four pages a year", though this range is only approximate anyway.

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