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FB
Guest
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| Posted: Fri Oct 28, 2005 2:50 am
Post subject: Some questions |
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- "At any given moment" ==> "At every single moment"?
- "Good and true". I seem to understand it's an idiom. What does it mean?
- "Hillside Strangler". Is Hillside the name of a particular place such
that could be rendered in, say, French with "L'étrangleur de Hillside"?
- "Girly/Girlie Pink" ==> It gives several occurrences on google. What does
"girly" refer to? The skin colour of a girl or what? An especially banal
and girlish shade of pink?
- "The algae-green slope of the city's shore". Does "algae-green" mean
"that shade of green" or "green because of the algae"?
- If a bird is sitting a fist, is it sitting a clutch? I sense that is the
case, and yet have found no direct evidence to this.
- "Dewy clean" ==> Is it some sort of stock definition? Is it reminiscent
of something, or is it just a personal expression?
- "A's speeches on chastity could only chill the blood in B's loins so
long". Why "loins" (is it somehow ironic?), and does "so long" mean "for
who knows how much time", "for ages"?
- If a person rebounds into faith, what do they do? That is, if they
rebound into something, do they take it up, get involved in it because of
an ostensible lack of alternatives?
Bye, FB
--
In any case, if you say 'I gotta go' at an important job interview you're
contributing to being allowed just that privilege.
(Tony the ice man on it.cultura.linguistica.inglese)
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Salvatore Volatile
Guest
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| Posted: Fri Oct 28, 2005 2:50 am
Post subject: Re: Some questions |
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FB wrote:
| Quote: | - "Dewy clean" ==> Is it some sort of stock definition? Is it reminiscent
of something, or is it just a personal expression?
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Dewey, Kleene & Howe might be a firm of chartered domestic servants. |
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nancy13g
Guest
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| Posted: Fri Oct 28, 2005 3:16 am
Post subject: Re: Some questions |
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FB wrote:
| Quote: | - "At any given moment" ==> "At every single moment"?
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No. "Any" and "every" don't mean the same thing.
| Quote: | - "Good and true". I seem to understand it's an idiom. What does it mean?
|
It's not an idiom, it's just a phrase. The word "true" here has the
definition of "faithful, loyal" rather than "the opposite of false".
| Quote: | - "Hillside Strangler". Is Hillside the name of a
particular place such that could be rendered in,
say, French with "L'étrangleur de Hillside"?
|
The "Hillside Strangler" was a nickname given by the press to the
unknown person who committed a series of gruesome murders in 1977
(although it later turned out that the murders had been committed by
two different people). I don't know whether or not it works to try to
translate a nickname literally from one language into another.
| Quote: | - "Girly/Girlie Pink" ==> It gives several occurrences on google.
What does "girly" refer to? The skin colour of a girl or what?
An especially banal and girlish shade of pink?
|
It could mean either, depending on context. The latter is more likely.
| Quote: | - "The algae-green slope of the city's shore". Does "algae-green" mean
"that shade of green" or "green because of the algae"?
|
Could mean either. Depends on context.
| Quote: | - If a bird is sitting a fist, is it sitting a clutch?
I sense that is the case, and yet have found no direct
evidence to this.
|
Are you sure you don't mean "nest"? "Sitting on a clutch" and "sitting
on a nest" both mean that the hen is waiting for her eggs to hatch. The
clutch is the group of eggs she is sitting on, and the nest is where
she has laid her eggs.
| Quote: | - "Dewy clean" ==> Is it some sort of stock definition? Is it reminiscent
of something, or is it just a personal expression?
|
Context?
| Quote: | - "A's speeches on chastity could only chill the blood
in B's loins so long". Why "loins" (is it somehow ironic?),
|
Is A making a speech on chastity while B is trying to persuade her to
have sex with him? If so, then there is nothing ironic about the use of
the word at all. If her speech on chastity "chilled the blood in his
loins", it means it made him at least temporarily feel no desire for
her.
| Quote: | - If a person rebounds into faith, what do they do?
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Context?
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Mike Lyle
Guest
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| Posted: Fri Oct 28, 2005 3:36 am
Post subject: Re: Some questions |
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nancy13g wrote:
| Quote: | FB wrote:
- "At any given moment" ==> "At every single moment"?
No. "Any" and "every" don't mean the same thing.
|
No, he knows that. But in this case the phrases are all but
synonymous. "At any given moment, you are never more than thirty feet
from a rat."
| Quote: |
- "Good and true". I seem to understand it's an idiom. What does
it
mean?
It's not an idiom, it's just a phrase. The word "true" here has the
definition of "faithful, loyal" rather than "the opposite of
false". |
"Good and..." is an idiom, equivalent to "completely" or "very".
"I'll help you when I'm good and ready."
| Quote: |
- "Hillside Strangler". Is Hillside the name of a
particular place such that could be rendered in,
say, French with "L'étrangleur de Hillside"?
The "Hillside Strangler" was a nickname given by the press to the
unknown person who committed a series of gruesome murders in 1977
(although it later turned out that the murders had been committed
by
two different people). I don't know whether or not it works to try
to
translate a nickname literally from one language into another.
|
The question is whether "Hillside" is here a proper name, and
therefore untranslatable. I don't know, but I suspect it is.
| Quote: | - "Girly/Girlie Pink" ==> It gives several occurrences on google.
What does "girly" refer to? The skin colour of a girl or what?
An especially banal and girlish shade of pink?
It could mean either, depending on context. The latter is more
likely. |
It would, I feel sure, always mean "girlish". Girls are the same
colour as boys.
| Quote: | - "The algae-green slope of the city's shore". Does "algae-green"
mean "that shade of green" or "green because of the algae"?
Could mean either. Depends on context.
|
That's right.
| Quote: |
- If a bird is sitting a fist, is it sitting a clutch?
I sense that is the case, and yet have found no direct
evidence to this.
Are you sure you don't mean "nest"? "Sitting on a clutch" and
"sitting
on a nest" both mean that the hen is waiting for her eggs to hatch.
The clutch is the group of eggs she is sitting on, and the nest is
where she has laid her eggs.
|
Is the bird a bird of prey? Falconers carry their birds "sitting" on
their fists. Since we speak of "sitting a horse", I wouldn't be too
surprised to find the expression without "on". Have you got some
context?
| Quote: | - "Dewy clean" ==> Is it some sort of stock definition? Is it
reminiscent of something, or is it just a personal expression?
Context?
|
The idea is of the freshness of dew first thing in the morning.
Advertisers are fond of dew.
| Quote: |
- "A's speeches on chastity could only chill the blood
in B's loins so long". Why "loins" (is it somehow ironic?),
Is A making a speech on chastity while B is trying to persuade her
to
have sex with him? If so, then there is nothing ironic about the
use
of the word at all. If her speech on chastity "chilled the blood in
his loins", it means it made him at least temporarily feel no
desire
for her.
|
"Loins" isn't ironic in itself, but it's a rather old-fashioned word
in a sexual context.
| Quote: |
- If a person rebounds into faith, what do they do?
Context?
|
Presumably it's somebody who suddenly becomes religious. It could
perhaps be a return after a period of non-observance; or, I strongly
suspect, it's an analogy with "falling for somebody on the
rebound" -- falling in love very soon after the end of an earlier
affair or marriage. We speak of "bouncing back" after bad
experiences.
--
Mike. |
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CDB
Guest
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| Posted: Fri Oct 28, 2005 6:52 am
Post subject: Re: Some questions |
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"FB" <fam.balducciNOSPAM@tin.it> wrote in message
news:1thvkrr1qidx6.1qs4rhkfs853h$.dlg@40tude.net...
[...]
| Quote: | - "Hillside Strangler". Is Hillside the name of a particular place
such
that could be rendered in, say, French with "L'étrangleur de
Hillside"?
|
[...]
A quick google turns up "...when three women were found strangled and
dumped naked on hillsides northeast of the city..." and "five young
women and girls were found on hillsides in the Glendale - Highland
Park area." I would say you can safely translate the word into your
target language. |
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Mark Brader
Guest
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| Posted: Fri Oct 28, 2005 7:08 am
Post subject: Re: Some questions |
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F. Balducci asks about:
| Quote: | - "Good and true".
|
Mike Lyle says:
| Quote: | "Good and..." is an idiom, equivalent to "completely" or "very".
"I'll help you when I'm good and ready."
|
I guess we need more context. That meaning is possible, but it seems
an unlikely usage to me.
--
Mark Brader "This may represent a minor inconvenience ...
Toronto I say 'minor' because I'm not doing the work."
msb@vex.net -- Topher Eliot |
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Mark Brader
Guest
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| Posted: Fri Oct 28, 2005 7:08 am
Post subject: Re: Some questions |
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F. Balducci:
| Quote: | - "At any given moment" ==> "At every single moment"?
|
Mike Lyle:
| Quote: | ...in this case the phrases are all but synonymous. "At any
given moment, you are never more than thirty feet from a rat."
|
Yes.
Ted Schuerzinger:
| Quote: | On the other hand, you can say that somebody with a detached retina could
go blind at any moment, but you can't say that such a person could go
blind at every moment.
|
Yes, but that's "at any moment". "At any given moment" is quite a
different thing. Oddly enough, I started to make the exact same
mistake when I was composing my original response, but I caught it
in time.
--
Mark Brader | "Must undefined behavior obey *all* the laws of physics,
msb@vex.net | or is the restriction limited to time travel?"
Toronto | --Heather Downs |
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Mark Brader
Guest
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| Posted: Fri Oct 28, 2005 7:08 am
Post subject: Re: Some questions |
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F. Balducci:
| Quote: | - "At any given moment" ==> "At every single moment"?
|
Sort of.
If something is true at any given moment, then if we examine it at
10:36 it's true, and if we examine it at 10:39 it's true, and if we
examine it at 10:40 it's true again. So we can deduce that it's
true at every single moment. The difference is that in the first
version, we conceptually only consider one particular moment at a
time rather than making a general statement.
Suppose it's true that at any given moment 15 people in Paris are
having an orgasm. (Yes, I know, that's not exactly what was in
the movie.) If you recast the statement in terms of "every moment",
there is a suggestion that it is the same 15 people all the time,
which might be a bit inconvenient.  By using "any moment", you
make it clear that you're only thinking about one moment at a time.
| Quote: | - "Good and true". I seem to understand it's an idiom. What does it mean?
|
Honest, loyal, trustworthy, that sort of thing. Good, and true.
| Quote: | - "Hillside Strangler". Is Hillside the name of a particular place such
that could be rendered in, say, French with "L'étrangleur de Hillside"?
|
I always assumed that myself, but I'd never paid much attention to
the crimes. I just googled on "Hillside Strangler" and learned that
in fact the killers -- there were actually two of them -- got that
name because they abandoned the bodies on various hillsides. So a
better translation, assuming that you want to retain the singular
form, would be something like "L'étrangleur des coteaux".
| Quote: | - "Girly/Girlie Pink" ==> It gives several occurrences on google. What does
"girly" refer to? The skin colour of a girl or what? An especially banal
and girlish shade of pink?
|
The second meaning.
| Quote: | - "The algae-green slope of the city's shore". Does "algae-green" mean
"that shade of green" or "green because of the algae"?
|
It could be either, but since we're talking about a place where algae
are likely, I would expect the second meaning.
| Quote: | - If a bird is sitting a fist, is it sitting a clutch? I sense that is the
case, and yet have found no direct evidence to this.
|
I have never heard of "sitting a fist". A Google search on the
phrase finds a few instances of a passage about "pigeons sitting a
fist apart". Here "a fist" goes with "apart"; it's being used as
a nonce unit of measure, so the meaning is like "pigeons sitting
about 10 cm apart".
| Quote: | - "Dewy clean" ==> Is it some sort of stock definition? Is it reminiscent
of something, or is it just a personal expression?
|
It's not a standard expression. I think the idea is that when you've
just washed something clean, it has droplets of water on it that look
like dew. You are now expected to imagine that dew itself performs a
similar cleaning function, and that an object with dew on it is therefore
very clean, and that the object we're talking about is clean like that.
| Quote: | - "A's speeches on chastity could only chill the blood in B's loins so
long". Why "loins" (is it somehow ironic?),
|
"Loins" is a rhetorical word for the sex organs. "Chill the blood in
B's loins" is a metaphor for reducing B's sex drive or sexual behavior.
(The speeches on chastity have been doing that.)
| Quote: | and does "so long" mean "for who knows how much time", "for ages"?
|
It's "only so long" (the fact that "only" is separated doesn't change
that), and so the meaning is pretty much the opposite: "for only a
limited time." We now expect B's sexuality to reassert itself at
any moment.
| Quote: | - If a person rebounds into faith, what do they do? That is, if they
rebound into something, do they take it up, get involved in it because
of an ostensible lack of alternatives?
|
No, it's because they tried the opposite and it didn't work out. Say
you normally drink 3 cups of coffee a day, but someone tells you that
coffee is bad for your health, so you decide to try not drinking
it at all. But that just makes you realize how much you miss the
coffee, and when you start again you just get hooked more strongly
and end up drinking 6 cups a day. That's a rebound. Well, imagine
the same thing with faith.
There are related uses of "rebound". If a couple breaks up, one of
them may quickly and thoughtlessly jump into another relationship
"on the rebound". If you take a drug to relieve some symptom, you
may find when it wears off that you get a "rebound effect" where
the symptom is worse than before.
--
Mark Brader, Toronto | "Alas, there is NO SUCH THING as 'NO SUCH THING as
msb@vex.net | privileged access.'" -- Alan Silverstein
My text in this article is in the public domain. |
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Ted Schuerzinger
Guest
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| Posted: Fri Oct 28, 2005 7:08 am
Post subject: Re: Some questions |
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|
Somebody claiming to be "Mike Lyle" <mike_lyle_uk@REMOVETHISyahoo.co.uk>
wrote in news:3scvj0FnnufoU3@individual.net:
| Quote: | nancy13g wrote:
FB wrote:
- "At any given moment" ==> "At every single moment"?
No. "Any" and "every" don't mean the same thing.
No, he knows that. But in this case the phrases are all but
synonymous. "At any given moment, you are never more than thirty feet
from a rat."
|
On the other hand, you can say that somebody with a detached retina could
go blind at any moment, but you can't say that such a person could go
blind at every moment.
--
Ted <fedya at bestweb dot net>
Oh Marge, anyone can miss Canada, all tucked away down there....
--Homer Simpson |
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FB
Guest
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| Posted: Fri Oct 28, 2005 2:28 pm
Post subject: Re: Some questions |
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On Thu, 27 Oct 2005 22:36:03 +0100, Mike Lyle wrote:
| Quote: | nancy13g wrote:
FB wrote:
[...]
- "The algae-green slope of the city's shore". Does "algae-green"
mean "that shade of green" or "green because of the algae"?
Could mean either. Depends on context.
That's right.
|
Vancouver's North shore. I've "googleimaged" it. I'll try again.
[...]
| Quote: | Is the bird a bird of prey? Falconers carry their birds "sitting" on
their fists. Since we speak of "sitting a horse", I wouldn't be too
surprised to find the expression without "on". Have you got some
context?
|
A false alarm.
[...]
| Quote: | - "A's speeches on chastity could only chill the blood
in B's loins so long". Why "loins" (is it somehow ironic?),
[...]
"Loins" isn't ironic in itself, but it's a rather old-fashioned word
in a sexual context.
|
A priest's sermons on chastity. If it's not ironic, why "loins"? Is it an
ordinary place to feel things, like blood chilling?
| Quote: | - If a person rebounds into faith, what do they do?
Context?
Presumably it's somebody who suddenly becomes religious.
|
Does the expression in itself imply that the person is almost passive in
that process?
[...]
Bye, FB
--
"Is this Miss Prism a female of repellent aspect, remotely connected with
education?" "She is the most cultivated of ladies, and the very picture of
respectability." "It is obviously the same person."
("The Importance of Being Earnest", Oscar Wilde) |
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FB
Guest
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| Posted: Fri Oct 28, 2005 2:30 pm
Post subject: Re: Some questions |
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On Fri, 28 Oct 2005 04:47:07 -0000, Mark Brader wrote:
| Quote: | F. Balducci asks about:
- "Good and true".
Mike Lyle says:
"Good and..." is an idiom, equivalent to "completely" or "very".
"I'll help you when I'm good and ready."
I guess we need more context. That meaning is possible, but it seems
an unlikely usage to me.
|
To live one's life good and true.
Bye, FB
--
In any case, if you say 'I gotta go' at an important job interview you're
contributing to being allowed just that privilege.
(Tony the ice man on it.cultura.linguistica.inglese) |
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FB
Guest
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| Posted: Fri Oct 28, 2005 2:37 pm
Post subject: Re: Some questions |
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On Thu, 27 Oct 2005 20:52:07 -0400, CDB wrote:
| Quote: | "FB" <fam.balducciNOSPAM@tin.it> wrote in message
news:1thvkrr1qidx6.1qs4rhkfs853h$.dlg@40tude.net...
[...]
- "Hillside Strangler". Is Hillside the name of a particular place
such
that could be rendered in, say, French with "L'étrangleur de
Hillside"?
[...]
A quick google turns up "...when three women were found strangled and
dumped naked on hillsides northeast of the city..." and "five young
women and girls were found on hillsides in the Glendale - Highland
Park area." I would say you can safely translate the word into your
target language.
|
I'd read that, too, but I kind of wouldn't believe it... Anyway, it seems
the Italian equivalent has been used. By... four people at least.
Bye, FB
--
"Golden orb... The golden orb... The golden orb..."
(Cold Comfort Farm, the film) |
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FB
Guest
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| Posted: Fri Oct 28, 2005 2:47 pm
Post subject: Re: Some questions |
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On Fri, 28 Oct 2005 04:03:19 -0000, Mark Brader wrote:
| Quote: | F. Balducci:
- "At any given moment" ==> "At every single moment"?
Sort of.
[...]
Suppose it's true that at any given moment 15 people in Paris are
having an orgasm. (Yes, I know, that's not exactly what was in
the movie.) If you recast the statement in terms of "every moment",
there is a suggestion that it is the same 15 people all the time,
which might be a bit inconvenient. By using "any moment", you
make it clear that you're only thinking about one moment at a time.
|
I take it to mean "Take one moment: at that moment, whenever it is, that
thing is happening". "At every single moment" seems to hold, though perhaps
it's a bit lazy.
[...]
| Quote: | - "Girly/Girlie Pink" ==> It gives several occurrences on google. What does
"girly" refer to? The skin colour of a girl or what? An especially banal
and girlish shade of pink?
The second meaning.
|
I thought as much. It's not so easy then... Is it shocking pink?
Google-images shows that it's a sort of "Barbie pink", so to speak, but it
doesn't appear to be a very specific shade.
| Quote: | - "The algae-green slope of the city's shore". Does "algae-green" mean
"that shade of green" or "green because of the algae"?
It could be either, but since we're talking about a place where algae
are likely, I would expect the second meaning.
|
I see.
[...]
Bye, FB
--
| Quote: | Gli č che degli inglesi affamati mi hanno chiesto di preparare un risotto
per un centinaio di persone. [...] pericoli? [...] |
Che la pentola ti cada addosso sotterrandoti. (sai che speciale di Studio
Aperto che viene fuori)
(Dott. Vernes su it.hobby.cucina) |
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Mark Brader
Guest
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| Posted: Fri Oct 28, 2005 2:48 pm
Post subject: Re: Some questions |
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F. Balducci asked about:
| Quote: | - "Good and true".
|
I (Mark Brader) said:
| Quote: | I guess we need more context.
|
F. Balducci supplies:
| Quote: | To live one's life good and true.
|
In that case I stand by my original interpretation. Honest, loyal,
trustworthy, and all that. Good, and true. It's not really a
familiar expression in this context; I think it may be intended to
also mean being true to oneself, that is, not suppressing one's
own character.
--
Mark Brader | "Design an idiot-proof system, and the universe
Toronto | will spontaneously evolve a higher grade of idiot
msb@vex.net | that is able to circumvent it." |
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Mike Lyle
Guest
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| Posted: Fri Oct 28, 2005 4:41 pm
Post subject: Re: Some questions |
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Mark Brader wrote:
| Quote: | F. Balducci asks about:
- "Good and true".
Mike Lyle says:
"Good and..." is an idiom, equivalent to "completely" or "very".
"I'll help you when I'm good and ready."
I guess we need more context. That meaning is possible, but it
seems
an unlikely usage to me.
|
I was reprehensibly hasty, in focussing on "good and..." rather than
the whole phrase. Perhaps because I only think of the pairing in the
set expression "good men and true". Sorry, Fred and Nancy.
--
Mike. |
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