A mother again
Okay, I just noticed this. Think about who is a “first-time homebuyer.” And a first-time caller, backpacker, attendee, etc. Okay, now imagine being a second-time homebuyer, caller, customer, etc.
Great. Now think about first-time mothers. See?
Comments(3)
I don’t see. Could you elaborate?
A first-time homebuyer is someone who is buying a house for the first time. A first-time mother is someone who “is a mother” for the first time (more naturally, it’s someone who has become a mother for the first time, but anyway).
A second-time homebuyer is someone who is buying a house for the second time. But you wouldn’t normally say that a second-time mother is “becoming a mother for the second time,” because they’re already a mother. So in this context of “nth-time mother,” “mother” refers not simply to the state of (being a woman and) having a child, but of (being a woman and) coming to have a child (by birth, or adoption, or whatever).
[Note: yes, "second-time X" is way less common and natural. But it's out there nonetheless]
very cute =)