Jeremy was enjoying becoming acquainted with the trappings of the rich, even if it was only a fleeting acquaintance.

Could you explain "fleeting acquaintance"?

My comments:

Anything that fleets moves very fast, as in, he has a fleet of foot, i.e. he is quick.

An acquaintance is someone you know but not too well, perhaps someone you have just met.

A fleeting acquaintance, hence, is a relationship that doesn't last long. In other words, you've lost contact with someone before you get to know them well.

In the above example, Jeremy was becoming acquainted with having lots of money at hand. That means he's just getting to know what it feels like to be very rich.

But alas, it was a fleeting acquaintance. In other words, very soon he's poor again.

If he could help it, Jeremy might prefer to have taken his time and got acquainted with leading a rich life slowly.

But apparently he, like most people are today, was in a lot of hurry. What for?

Related stories:

All-weather friend

Lead the pack

Fish or cut bait

Gilt-edged

To do more with less

Right down the middle

Take my word for it

40-sometimes

Last but not the least

Call it a dog

Pull my leg

Ego bath

Tough call

Rain check

Upper reaches

Off the shoulders

Off and running

Gold dust

Frugality fatigue

Red flag

Foregone conclusion

Call balls and strikes

Stare in the face

Cyber Monday

With a grain of salt

Drive home

Out of nowhere

Shove it under the carpet

the sky is the limit

hit it off

get my rib in my heart

Go to Zhang Xin's column

本文僅代表作者本人觀點(diǎn)，與本網(wǎng)立場無關(guān)。歡迎大家討論學(xué)術(shù)問題，尊重他人，禁止人身攻擊和發(fā)布一切違反國家現(xiàn)行法律法規(guī)的內(nèi)容。

About the author:

Zhang Xin（張欣） 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.