East is East, and West is West, and never the twain shall meet
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The culture of the West (Europe and the Americas) will always be very different from that of the East (Asia). (Twain means “two.”) This saying is part of the refrain of “The Ballad of East and West,” a poem by Rudyard Kipling.
QUIZZES
QUIZ YOURSELF ON “THEIR,” “THERE,” AND “THEY’RE”
Are you aware how often people swap around “their,” “there,” and “they’re”? Prove you have more than a fair grasp over these commonly confused words.
Question 1 of 7
Which one of these commonly confused words can act as an adverb or a pronoun?
Words nearby East is East, and West is West, and never the twain shall meet
East Indian, East Indian walnut, East Indies, easting, easting down, East is East, and West is West, and never the twain shall meet, East Islip, East Kilbride, Eastlake, Eastland, East Lansing
Cultural definitions for East is East, and West is West, and never the twain shall meet (2 of 2)
East is East, and West is West, and never the twain shall meet
A line from a poem by Rudyard Kipling. It continues, a few lines later: “But there is neither East nor West ... When two strong men stand face to face.”
The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.