Have you ever wondered who “They” are? People say about things “Well, you know what they say…” who is this “they” that they are referring to? Is it like the Borg?
Yes
For the record, I am not a trekkie.
I read a story once that was taken entirely from book titles beginning with “they.” I can’t find it anymore, but you can get the effect from any book titles. Somehow it had a rather pathetic tone–you ended up feeling pretty sorry for them. This is from the NYPL, selected at random:
They all began to sing. They all follow me. They all hold swords. They almost made it. They also spoke. They always come home. They are a target. They are always with me. They are always wrong. They are dying out. They are even more ruthless than Hitler. They are human too. They are my friends. They are no more. They are off. They are returning. They arrived by moonlight. They ask for bread. They asked for death. They believe. They betrayed Czechoslovakia. They bid me forget thee. They both were naked. They brought their women. They build for the future. They buried a man. They burned the books. They call it a game. They call it love.
They can send a man to the moon, but they can’t cure the common cold.
Paul Reiser once speculated that THEY is run by THE MAN.
They ain’t got shit on me.
According to the liner notes of one of the earlier RUSH albums, “they” refers to the two uncles of Skip “Slider” Gildersleeve, RUSH’s stage left technician. Now you know.