Reader question:

Please explain “fast and furious” in this sentence: And the growth has been fast and furious, buoyed by the robust growth of the banking sector, rapid digitization, changing customer preferences, and increasing support of investors and regulators.

My comments:

Growth has come rapidly and in intensive fashion, happening in every which may, i.e. helped by growth and change in a variety of sectors at the same time.

Such as, as listed above, “robust growth of the banking sector, rapid digitization, changing customer preferences, and increasing support of investors and regulators”.

“Fast and furious” is an exactly apt phrase to describe such a scene, when a lot of exciting things are happening at the same time.

I say apt because, originally, “fast and furious” was used to describe a country dance. The expression was first used by Scottish poet Robert Burns (1759-96), in “Tam o’ Shanter” (1793):

As Tammie glowr’d, amaz’d and curious,

The mirth and fun grew fast and furious;

The piper loud and louder blew,

The dancers quick and quicker flew.

As you can imagine, as more and more people join the dance, twirling around, the joy (mirth) and fun grew more palpable and infectious. Reading those line, we can still feel the thrill in the air and the joyous atmosphere of that day.

Later on, people followed the famous poet’s example and began to describe throbbing scenes as “fast and furious”, such as, for instance, a fast-paced English Premier League soccer match, a Formula One car race or, for that matter, a tumultuous day at the stock market where shares change hands at an unprecedented rate.

In short, “fast and furious” is a commonly used expression to describe any scene where something is happening with rapidity and unrestrained energy.

And here are recent media examples:

1. About five years ago, Singapore goalkeeper Hassan Sunny started thinking about life after football.

Then 36 and fresh from his second stint in Thailand with Army United, he had a dream of starting his own food stall, having grown up around his uncle and aunt’s nasi padang (rice and dishes) stall.

“I learnt a lot from them, how to run it, what to do and so if I were to have a mid-career change, it wouldn’t have been much of a difficulty to adapt,” he told CNA. “I enjoy cooking at home. So in a way, everything aligned and everything connected.”

He opened his first stall in 2020. Today, he owns Dapur Hassan in Tampines, which sells Malay dishes.

His stall hit the headlines recently when throngs of Chinese fans flocked there – Hassan’s heroics for Singapore in a World Cup qualifier helped keep alive China’s hopes in the competition.

The reports brought into focus the life of Singapore’s footballers after their time on the pitch. Many pivot to other jobs – property agents, car salesmen, food stall owners – while others stay in the game.

Footballers have relatively short careers. Most retire in their 30s if they steer clear of serious injuries.

Unlike the top European leagues – where players are given huge paychecks – almost no Singapore footballer can leave the game and never need to work again.

It is vital for footballers to start preparing for life after they hang up their boots, current and former players told CNA.

While this sentiment might seem obvious now, this was not always the case.

Former Singapore international R Sasikumar said that back in his playing days, footballers did not always think about life after their careers.

“Information wasn’t as free-flowing back then … It was tough for us to wrap our heads around what opportunities there were,” recalled Sasikumar, who retired at 29 in 2004.

...

A footballer’s life revolves around routine – training, eating and matches on the weekends.

Another big part of it is the camaraderie of a team. Teammates form a support network that many miss when they retire.

“It was being around people. The team dynamics, the dressing room … playing for the national team, big games,” said Sasikumar.

“When you wake up one day and say this is all over, it’s quite scary.

“It was a combination of things. The friends you made in football, the winning, the ups and downs of life which were really fast and furious … Now you’re on your own, there’s no team, it’s just you.

“It can be a very lonely place.”

- Life after football in Singapore – from running food stalls to planning weddings, ChannelNewsAsia.com, July 27, 2024.

2. The tornado spawned by Hurricane Milton bulldozed through central Palm Beach County, blazing a trail of destruction from Wellington to Loxahatchee to Palm Beach Gardens.

Homes destroyed, cars flipped over, and countless trees shredded, even hardy, legacy oak trees.

Ricardo Johnson stepped outside after it passed and found his car on the roof of his home.

“The vehicle was parked over here to my left and with the tornado coming through the neighborhood, it ended up on the roof, nose down, and the pressure kind of blew through all the windows,” Johnson said.

There was blue sky visible where his roof should’ve been.

“We just hunkered down in our safe space and fortunately, we’re fine,” Johnson said.

The massive twister smashed everything in its path, leaving witnesses awestruck.

“And I could see a thousand feet into the air, spinning debris, big debris, and it was coming down from the south, and my wife came out and said ‘get in here,’ and we no sooner got inside, shut the door in our safe room, and it hit, and 30 seconds later it was gone but we knew it was bad,” Dave Darnell said. “It wasn’t like a hurricane where you’ve got, like, a long time of bad stuff, it was fast and furious and it was just a quick roar.”

“And they’re not kidding when they say it sounds like a freight train because that’s exactly what it sounded like,” said Bryan Schultz of Wellington.

- ‘Fast and furious’: Residents describe twister spawned by Milton that devastated Palm Beach, NBCMiami.com, October 10, 2024.

3. Former President Donald Trump said foreign automakers are “getting away with murder” by making parts in Germany and assembling them in plants in South Carolina, describing it as something a child could do. “They say, ‘Oh yes, we’re building cars.’ They don’t build cars. They take ’em out of a box, and they assemble ’em. We could have our child do it,” Trump said during an appearance at the Economic Club of Chicago Tuesday.

Trump did not mention any company by name but South Carolina has only two German automakers – BMW in Spartanburg County and Mercedes Benz Vans in Ladson. BMW assembles a range of vehicles and Mercedes-Benz makes Sprinter vans.

The reaction across the internet was fast and furious from local Spartanburg residents to nationally known business leaders.

Businessman Mark Cuban said, “He still thinks it’s 1965. It’s obvious he has no idea what it takes to manufacture any advanced product, car or otherwise.” Betsy Teter, a former business reporter for the Herald Journal and founder of Hub City Writers Project, responded to a post on Facebook, saying, “Pretty much every automotive plant, foreign and domestic, is an assembly plant. The parts come in from suppliers and that’s how they make cars. That’s how they make boats. That’s how they make airplanes. It is a ridiculous statement that this is a job for children. Has he never been in a factory?” Nathalie Bauters, head of Corporate Communications at BMW Group Plant Spartanburg, responded with statistics: 8 million-square-foot facility, three body shops, two paint shops, two assembly halls., a metal stamping facility for body panels, investment of more than $13 billion, 11,000 highly skilled associates making 1,500 vehicles daily – 400,000 a year – with parts from hundreds of suppliers across the United States.

“Our BMW X models are some of the most complex vehicles in the world, and they are desired by customers everywhere,” she said. “Plant Spartanburg has been one of the largest automotive exporters by value in the United States for the past 10 years, with an export value of $10.1 billion. “We export more vehicles from the United States than we import into the country. Plant Spartanburg generates a total economic impact of $26.7 billion to our state while supporting nearly 43,000 jobs and $3.1 billion in wages and salaries.” She did not specifically mention Trump.

- ‘We could have our child do it.’ Trump appears to throw shade at BMW, Mercedes workers, TheState.com, October 16, 2024.

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About the author:

Zhang Xin is Trainer at chinadaily.com.cn. He has been with China Daily since 1988, when he graduated from Beijing Foreign Studies University. Write him at: zhangxin@chinadaily.com.cn, or raise a question for potential use in a future column.

（作者：張欣）