"We aren’t going for the simple reason that we can’t afford it." (Is this sentence having dual meaning?)

Question

"We aren’t going for the simple reason that we can’t afford it."

We aren't going for A (negate A) : A is not the reason. (We have another reason besides the simple reason)
We aren't going (negate going) : We are not going (We are not going because of the simple reason)

Literally, I think "We aren't going=We are not going=We don't go" and "for the simple reason that ~ = due to the fact that ~"

What's the meaning of the sentence?

Andrew Tobilko · Accepted Answer · 2021-04-08 10:13:17Z

1

We aren’t going for the simple reason that we can’t afford it.

means

We aren’t going because we can’t afford it.

Go here simply means travel or move to another place.

We aren't going to that expensive restaurant again.

answered Apr 8, 2021 at 10:13

Andrew Tobilko

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I agree with Michael that the second meaning is possible. Though,you'll hear people say it as "We aren't 'not going because we can't afford it', we aren't going because..." — since all this gets messy, I would be more likely to say "It isn't that we can't afford it, we're not going because...."
– anotherdave
Apr 8, 2021 at 11:17

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