It's a tongue that does what it likes. Usually hanging out of the dog's mouth.
General help with obscure english expressions, thread :)
- Thread starter Kyriakos
- Start date
Zardnaar
Deity
I have a new question
This is from a short story by Charlotte Perkins-Gilman, "The Witch":
1) "Heavily wigged and ratted" means that she is wearing a gaudy wig and has hair extensions? (the story was written in the start of the 20th century).
2) "contours of grouped sausages" just means that her body looked loose or in other ways similar to sausages sold as joined to each other? (ie the parallelism is to her joints as well?)
Ratted can mean drunk, it's British English.
Zardnaar
Deity
Another question:
"in the dank light of the terminal"
What kind of light is "dank"? Is it about moist atmosphere and particles/dust etc in the air, visible under the light? Or is this about some quality of the light? (metaphorical?)
It is during the night, in October (in Spain)
"in the dank light of the terminal"
What kind of light is "dank"? Is it about moist atmosphere and particles/dust etc in the air, visible under the light? Or is this about some quality of the light? (metaphorical?)
It is during the night, in October (in Spain)
Zkribbler
Deity
I've only seen dank used as moisture diffused through the air or a solid substance or condensed on a surface, typically with detrimental or unpleasant effects. That is, dank doesn't refer to the quality of light but to the humidity. Dank and dreary.
Zardnaar
Deity
Would mean darker and damp generally.
Timsup2nothin
Deity
- Joined
- Apr 2, 2013
- Messages
- 46,737
When it refers to lighting it may or may not have any connection to moisture in the air. Sometimes the combination of low wattage bulbs and light covers that aren't really clear can produce that kind of dimness that makes you feel like you are underwater. The lights seem like they just don't have the range that they should and they leave corners almost unlit even though if you look straight at the lights they seem like they should be bright enough. That's dank. It is extremely unsettling and unpleasant.
Of course, there is a more recent usage that has to do with being centered in the ideal growing spectrum for a certain popular plant, but in the context of whatever terminal Kyr is talking about that's not it. That would be more "Dude! We just ran all new lighting and that ___ is DANK!"
I think this is correct, and I will just go with the greek term for "blurred" or "murky" and include a note explaining that apparently the insufficient light creates the effect that the darkness sort of corrodes the lit parts.
Gori the Grey
The Poster
- Joined
- Jan 5, 2009
- Messages
- 13,356
Yeah, "murky" is right. "Dank" here just gives a mood that the light sets.
sophie
Break My Heart
Yeah, this. Dim with a connotation of like dinginess. It's hard to tell without further context - dank isn't really used in that way anymore in modern parlance. Murky or dingy would be more likely.
What does "in precise tandem" mean?
"Now, in precise tandem, they turn their faces to the hatch"
Doesn't "tandem" connote that one of them turned first? If so, does this just mean that the other turned as fast as possible, but still not synchronized with the first?
"Now, in precise tandem, they turn their faces to the hatch"
Doesn't "tandem" connote that one of them turned first? If so, does this just mean that the other turned as fast as possible, but still not synchronized with the first?
Gori the Grey
The Poster
- Joined
- Jan 5, 2009
- Messages
- 13,356
Here's from the OED on "in tandem":
arranged one behind the other; also figurative, together, in partnership.
that figurative usage can predominate in a particular verbal formulation, to where "in precise tandem" would mean "at exactly the same time."
arranged one behind the other; also figurative, together, in partnership.
that figurative usage can predominate in a particular verbal formulation, to where "in precise tandem" would mean "at exactly the same time."
I am also not sure what the difference of the use of the curse f---n is, when instead of ending it in the usual -ing the Irish rogue ends it in -en. Is this just to mimic the actual sound?
Meh, the f---n things I do for money.
Meh, the f---n things I do for money.
Gori the Grey
The Poster
- Joined
- Jan 5, 2009
- Messages
- 13,356
Yes, spelling to capture dialect.
Timsup2nothin
Deity
- Joined
- Apr 2, 2013
- Messages
- 46,737
Spelling to capture inability to spell correctly, more like.
sophie
Break My Heart
I am also not sure what the difference of the use of the curse f---n is, when instead of ending it in the usual -ing the Irish rogue ends it in -en. Is this just to mimic the actual sound?
Meh, the f---n things I do for money.
What the others said. I think to your later observation that nothing else is spelled to reflect dialect-appropriate pronunciation, f--, particularly when used adjectivally/adverbially, doesn't really contain any literal lexical information, but rather typically provides semantic meaning in the visceral experience and internalized sound of the word and the context that conveys. So for f-- more than any other particular word in the English language, it's often essential that the internalized, heard phonetics of the word as conveyed on the page, are appropriately captured as dialect-appropriate so that that visceral sound-reaction is correctly received as intended by the audience. Same thing often happens with Scottish and Irish dialect dialogue where f- is spelled with an "oo" - the point isn't the word itself, but sound of the word as heard internally by the audience.
Ok, some final stuff about this text:
"But Charlie Redmond? He’s a natural with dogs. He reaches
a long hand for Lorca, takes the paw, shakes it. He bats at the dog with his free, open palm, gently, about the eyes, as
though to mesmerise, just little back-and-forth movements
of the palm, and the animal is at once besotted. "
What does "a long hand" and "bats at" mean?
And lastly: "A dotey old pet, Charlie says. "
Does old acquire some different meaning here (eg just used to show it is liked, without it being actually old)? (at any rate it isn't mentioned up to now if the dog is actually old).
"But Charlie Redmond? He’s a natural with dogs. He reaches
a long hand for Lorca, takes the paw, shakes it. He bats at the dog with his free, open palm, gently, about the eyes, as
though to mesmerise, just little back-and-forth movements
of the palm, and the animal is at once besotted. "
What does "a long hand" and "bats at" mean?
And lastly: "A dotey old pet, Charlie says. "
Does old acquire some different meaning here (eg just used to show it is liked, without it being actually old)? (at any rate it isn't mentioned up to now if the dog is actually old).
Zardnaar
Deity
Sorry is probably from doddering or dotage. Means the dog is old and probably frail. Some old dogs still bounce around at a reasonable clip.
Not 109% sure due to the wording but I would take it the man is making gestures at the dog probably for the dog to rub it's head on his hand or slapping thigh to get the dogs attention. Said man is probably reaching out hence long hand.
It's the dog version of putting your hand out to a cat and rubbing your fingers to get the cat to "bop" your hand.
Thanks
Although for "long hand" and "bats at" I will likely need something more specific (I can leave it general, of course, if there is no way to ascertain something specific).As for the "dotey (= apparently a term of endearment, eg lovable) old pet", at the moment the dog is at some distance and cannot be touched, IMO.
Similar threads
