[General] poster

[Will17]

Hello,

This is a sentence I'd like to use on a (theatre) bill. John is an impressionist.

"John hacks the singers".


I have 2 questions:

-Is it better to use the present continuous: is hacking

-Is "the" necessary?

Thank you
W

 

[lauralie2]

It would depend on the context.

____________
What does 'hack' mean to you in that context? To me it means to cut to pieces with a knife or an axe.

 

[Will17]

Re: theatre bill

We are organising a show and this is what I'd like to write on the bill which will be at the entrance of the theatre.

Thanks for your help.

 

[bhaisahab]

Re: theatre bill

We are organising a show and this is what I'd like to write on the bill which will be at the entrance of the theatre.

Thanks for your help.

Why do you want to use hack/hacking, what do you mean by it?

 

[Will17]

John imitates singers. By "hacks" I mean "imitates" but I would like to use a more modern term....

 

[Barb_D]

I didn't even picture them being cut into pieces with an axe. I thought he got into their computer records and bank accounts.

Don't use "hack." No one will know what you mean.

Mimics or imitates.

 

[Will17]

I didn't even picture them being cut into pieces with an axe. I thought he got into their computer records and bank accounts.

Thank you for your explanation....!!!!!!In fact, I didn't know "hack" could mean "cut something into pieces". I only knew the term in a computing context.

And that was the idea: John hacks singers the way computers can be taken over. Anyway, apparently, my idea isn't really convincing!!

So, how would you put it on the theatre bill?

"John imitates singers"?

Thank you
W

 

[Barb_D]

Mimic John Smith covers the songs of many famous artists

"Covers" in a music context means that you sing/play the songs made famous by others. By saying he's a mimic, you are saying that he will sing them in their style.

 

[SoothingDave]

If the singer is also dressing and acting like the singers being imitated, we say he is "impersonating" them.

 

[Will17]

If the singer is also dressing and acting like the singers being imitated, we say he is "impersonating" them.

Thank you.

So, could we use the present simple and write on that bill:

"John impersonates singers! "

Thank you
W

 

[SoothingDave]

Sure.