second nature

Hello,

I have read the "second nature" forum discussions, and I am pretty sure that it means "habit". But in the sentence below, can we interpret it as "ordinary".?

"Set in easternmost Anatolia in the 1990s, the novel deals with the present-day shouting-match between East and West - a subject that is second nature to any native of Istanbul like Pamuk."

Source: Stephen Shea's Review of Snow: http://stephenosheaonline.com/reviews-Snow.html

Thank you and best wishes...

Interesting example -- I personally would not use "second nature" in the way this author did. I think of the phrase as applying to actions or behaviors, not ideas or themes.

But I assume he's using it to mean something like "intuitive" / "natural." The subject of East/West conflict is part of the fabric of life Istanbul natives, whose very city embodies the intersection of cultures?

Hi sandpiperlily,

I agree with you that "second nature" here means "natural" or "ordinary", "common". Thank you very much.

In this context, I would take "second nature" to mean familiar.

Thank you Parla, familiar fits with the context as well.