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What does it mean to say, "Everyone in this city has 2.1 kids"? Is this an idiom?

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4 Answers 4

up vote 5 down vote accepted

It means that the people in the city is stereotypically average-like, with a humorous twist.

Famililes in a region may have 2.1 kids by average. Saying that each familiy literally have 2.1 kids implies that they are average-like to absurdity.

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It's an ironic expression of an average as if it were an actual number.

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2.1 Kids: Stable Population


PS: Not necessarily reflecting my personal views.

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I have a feeling that someone is stalking me and voting down everything I say without bothering with a comment. Very cowardly. –  mplungjan Mar 6 '11 at 17:45

It's a phrase in common use to mean a stereotypically average family.

There was a situation comedy on British TV a few years back called "2.4 Children" which got its title from the average size of a British family (family sizes vary from country to country). They obviously didn't have 2.4 children, unless you count the Dad acting childish 40% of the time, but the title was meant to imply that the family were average in every way.

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