3

I am reading a computer article about virtual machines.

My question is that what "sad" means in the sentence below?

I don't think it means "unhappy", because the writer says that he loves virtual machines.

I love virtual machines (VMs) and I have done for a long time. If that makes me “sad” or an “anorak”, so be it. I love them because they are so much fun, as well as being so useful.

Improve this question
6
  • 6
    I think he means it in the sense of pathetic or lame. The term anorak means (in BrE, not AmE) a geek obsessed with a specific subject (I think the Japanese call this kind of person otaku?). So he might be saying if he's performed as being pathetic for being so obsessed with VMs, well then so be it: he doesn't care, he loves them nevertheless.
    – Dan Bron
    Commented Sep 21, 2015 at 12:17
  • @Dan Bron: I'm guessing that would be your less-that-perfect predictive text that came up with performed instead of perceived.
    – FumbleFingers
    Commented Sep 21, 2015 at 12:38
  • @FumbleFingers You guessed correctly. I'm looking for a new text-predictor, would you mind submitting an application?
    – Dan Bron
    Commented Sep 21, 2015 at 12:43
  • 1
    @Dan: My comment was my application! (For a small monthly fee, you can email all your comments to me for proofreading prior to posting! :)
    – FumbleFingers
    Commented Sep 21, 2015 at 12:57
  • 1
    "Sad" can be used to mean "pitiful" even when applied directly. Often when one labels someone else as "sad" in American English, they don't mean that the other is actually feeling sadness, but that they are a pitiful or pathetic person; the speaker would supposedly feel sadness upon seeing the person, but often this isn't actually the case.
    – Crazy Eyes
    Commented Sep 21, 2015 at 14:33

2 Answers 2

Reset to default
4

He means to say he doesn't care, even if he seems pathetic or geeky or introvert, He still love VMs anyways.

Improve this answer
5
  • Yes. Sad and anorak are in quotation marks: they represent how other people characterize the author's obsessions.
    – StoneyB on hiatus
    Commented Sep 21, 2015 at 12:32
  • @StoneyB , i want to translate the sentence into my native language. can i say something like this? if people feel pity about me, it doesn't matter.
    – amin
    Commented Sep 21, 2015 at 12:49
  • @Waheed Khan , would u answer the question i asked StoneyB? he is apparently not online. Do u know the answer?
    – amin
    Commented Sep 21, 2015 at 13:32
  • 1
    @amin It's not so much pity as scorn, I think
    – StoneyB on hiatus
    Commented Sep 21, 2015 at 14:10
  • StoneyB, sorry man I was also not available, yeah the sense is right but the sentence should be If people feel pity for me, It doesn't matter! I think so, I'm not sure about it.
    – Waheed Khan
    Commented Sep 21, 2015 at 18:20
1

In this particular instance "sad" is a synonym for "pitiable" or "pathetic".

Improve this answer
1

You must log in to answer this question.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged .