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Definition of Idiom
An idiom is a phrase that conveys a figurative meaning that is difficult or impossible to understand based solely on a literal interpretation of the words in the phrase. For... read full definition
An idiom is a phrase that conveys a figurative meaning that is difficult or impossible to understand based solely on a literal interpretation of the... read full definition
An idiom is a phrase that conveys a figurative meaning that is difficult or impossible to understand based solely on... read full definition
Idioms
Explanation and Analysis—Cops and Robbers:
Several times throughout the story, Rye describes Obsidian as playing "cops and robbers." While "cops and robbers" can refer to a particular children's game in which players pretend to be police and/or criminals, the term is used as an idiom here. Obsidian is only pretending to be a police officer in a society that no longer places any value on job titles or badges.
Rye's anger at Obsidian's ability to read and write is related to what she perceives as his play-acting:
Abruptly, she hated him--deep, bitter hatred. What did literacy mean to him--a grown man who played cops and robbers? But he was literate and she was not.
Rye cannot understand why somebody who appears so unserious should have the special privilege of reading and writing. At the same time, she also recognizes that these things are out of her control. While he has literacy, she has speech.
When Rye asks for real protection from Obsidian, he initially hesitates. Rye decides he is "probably having too much fun playing cops and robbers and picking up women" to go with her.
After she convinces him, though, she begins to appreciate his way of following his own version of reality:
If playing cops and robbers was his only insanity, let him play.
Even if Obsidian's role as a police officer is merely role-play, Rye realizes that she could benefit from some of his imaginative capacity. He lives his life in a way that preserves something of the pre-pandemic world, and Rye comes to admire this. Perhaps living through imagination, as reflected in the "cops and robbers" idiom, is not so bad after all.
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