student asking question

What does "20-year-olds" mean? Does it refer to all 20s(20~29) or multiple number of 20 year old person? I'm so confused.

teacher

Native speaker’s answer

Rebecca

"... made for a bunch of hungry 20-year-olds" is a reference to the American cultural stereotype of young college students with limited cooking skills and not a lot of money. In America, instant noodles are often associated with this segment of the population. When the speaker says "20-year-olds," she doesn't mean 20-year-olds specifically, she is only using this age group as an example of young people in general. She is referring to the trope of broke young people in their early 20s who eat cheap instant noodles. She is attempting to be humorous and has only used "20-year-olds" to provide a more vivid image.

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