Gori the Grey
The Poster
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I think what you give is exactly the progression. It's just that the OED senses don't get as far as that last one.
Anyway in Kyr's quote, it just means "big."
General help with obscure english expressions, thread :)
- Thread starter Kyriakos
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Anyway in Kyr's quote, it just means "big."
GinandTonic
Saphire w/ Schweps + Lime
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Yeah, but with a negative connotation.
I don't think so*; it seems that it is a parallel to the consciousness of the narrator:
The 'old man' probably is his illusion (i mean he runs for all day through London, and the narrator follows him, and he is supposedly a 70-year old). So the narrator is only aware of a small part of his mental situation, much like the worst heart in the world - ie the old man - is larger than the prayer-book.
Furthermore, the title of the prayer book is 'the little garden' (of the soul, etc), and that seems to tie to how in the start of the story, before the narrator starts following the old man, he is just staying inside a nice and smallish room of his elegant hotel. A bit like he was in a small garden.
*With things as they are, i'd really need very conclusive proof that in the 1840s there was a known and usual other meaning for 'gross', making it also mean 'vile' or terrible or similar. Cause while it would fit the story as inferred along with 'large' being the main meaning, the 'large' meaning does already cover things without needing a secondary meaning, and at any rate the 'vile' one would only serve as a repeat of elements one already is aware of from the story (the old man is a criminal element, etc).
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Happy new year! ^^
Ok, something from the fourth (and final) Poe story i am translating; The Imp of the Perverse:
The red part. Generally my account (of which i am pretty confident, but no harm in asking...) is that Poe here means the philosophical substance*, ie what is actually real, but juxtaposes it to the 'objective' reality of what is seen (ie the creation of god itself, which in this paragraph is man). Therefore the moods and phases are not something fleeting or secondary, but actually have substance, and so are even more serious and difficult to examine than the material reality of the creation.
Mostly thought of asking in case there is something other i am missing (eg does 'phases of creation' refer to something different than phases during which the mental faculties are created? (Poe speaks of theories of phrenology in this story, and compares their sense of origin of faculties in set places of the mind, to theories of god being responsible for said faculties).
*it is very clear from earlier paragraphs, and use of terms like a priori and a posteriori and empiricism, that Poe is trying to include an account of philosophy in the end of the 19th century.
Ok, something from the fourth (and final) Poe story i am translating; The Imp of the Perverse:
Poe said:
The red part. Generally my account (of which i am pretty confident, but no harm in asking...) is that Poe here means the philosophical substance*, ie what is actually real, but juxtaposes it to the 'objective' reality of what is seen (ie the creation of god itself, which in this paragraph is man). Therefore the moods and phases are not something fleeting or secondary, but actually have substance, and so are even more serious and difficult to examine than the material reality of the creation.
Mostly thought of asking in case there is something other i am missing (eg does 'phases of creation' refer to something different than phases during which the mental faculties are created? (Poe speaks of theories of phrenology in this story, and compares their sense of origin of faculties in set places of the mind, to theories of god being responsible for said faculties).
*it is very clear from earlier paragraphs, and use of terms like a priori and a posteriori and empiricism, that Poe is trying to include an account of philosophy in the end of the 19th century.
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You might seek out old copies of newspapers from the mid 1800s to see if you can find the word gross used.
http://www.baltimoresun.com/search/
btw, Poe lived in Baltimore for a bit.
Thanks
Though - thankfully- i can consider that bit as settled (given i do not plan to claim in any note in my translation that 'gross' definitively lacked the other meaning, yet it does seem most likely it did).Final question (end of the Poe stories...)
Does this refer to the nature of the fits of perversity? (probably; another possibility would be to perversity itself, which also makes sense in context)
But, more importantly: Does "been at trouble to" mean "i found it difficult" or "i went into the trouble to"? (the latter would also make sense in context).
Poe said:
Does this refer to the nature of the fits of perversity? (probably; another possibility would be to perversity itself, which also makes sense in context)
But, more importantly: Does "been at trouble to" mean "i found it difficult" or "i went into the trouble to"? (the latter would also make sense in context).
Zkribbler
Deity
Does anyone know if "Debased Romanesque" is an actual term for some (possible corruption, or other variation) of this (architectural) style?
Only asking cause the term is in brackets in the actual text. Though some googling didn't produce any known use of the phrase outside the specific text.
I suppose it is just a turn of phrase and not architectural jargon at all (what it seeks to define in such a case is evident), and placed in quotation for other effect, but it doesn't hurt asking native speakers of english, for the chance someone may have come across this terminology when dealing with actual architectural jargon
Currently translating a nice american short story; the legend of Sleepy Hollow, by Washington Irving
A first question: the title "Master" is used for Henry Hudson (the famous english navigator/explorer). Is this a title reserved for specific sea-commanders, or is it more generic? (eg something like 'first in command')?
Also (though i already think i have this correctly) i suppose Irving uses a nice pun in the name "Sleepy Hollow Boys", ie the locals of the area aren't just called thus because they live in that hollow valley, but also are empty-headed? (used in a note)
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Lexicus
Deity
Currently translating a nice american short story; the legend of Sleepy Hollow, by Washington Irving
A first question: the title "Master" is used for Henry Hudson (the famous english navigator/explorer). Is this a title reserved for specific sea-commanders, or is it more generic? (eg something like 'first in command')?
Also (though i already think it have this correctly) i suppose Irving uses a nice pun in the name "Sleepy Hollow Boys", ie the locals of the area aren't just called thus because they live in that hollow valley, but also are empty-headed? (used in a note)
Can you give more complete context? Like type the sentence it appears in?
sophie
Break My Heart
This link may be of interest: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Master_(form_of_address)
Also more context would be nice. In terms of seafaring, I recall the term being thrown around a lot at junior officers (as opposed to deckhands) on ships (e.g. as a midshipman Hornblower is called "Master Hornblower" iirc). Could correspond to the usage as directed to juniors (and thus not called "Mister")
Also more context would be nice. In terms of seafaring, I recall the term being thrown around a lot at junior officers (as opposed to deckhands) on ships (e.g. as a midshipman Hornblower is called "Master Hornblower" iirc). Could correspond to the usage as directed to juniors (and thus not called "Mister")
@Lexicus and @Owen Glyndwr there sadly is no more context, it just appears in this sentence (in passing) :
"[...]before the country was discovered by Master Hendrick Hudson"
(page 6 in this pdf: https://www.ibiblio.org/ebooks/Irving/Sleepy/Irving_Sleepy.pdf )
Hudson is - of course - the one the river is named after. He was a major explorer and navigator.
"[...]before the country was discovered by Master Hendrick Hudson"
(page 6 in this pdf: https://www.ibiblio.org/ebooks/Irving/Sleepy/Irving_Sleepy.pdf )
Hudson is - of course - the one the river is named after. He was a major explorer and navigator.
sophie
Break My Heart
Hmm short of doing actual research on historic uses of English, I'd say it's just an honorific or else a standard form of address before "Mister" had acquired more prevalent usage. I very much doubt there is a deeper meaning at play there. Have you consulted any other translations? E.g. German or French or Spanish?
Lexicus
Deity
Yep, probably just a generic term for a dude with some authority.
They likely will have similar terms for it; will likely consult those - if it comes to that - as a final measure. (problem with using the 'similar' greek term for the period ship-authorities is that Greece had no official navy of its own in the 17th century, and the term doesn't have much of an aura of an official title so i won't be using that (it is close to the english "captain"; i am using something more prestigious but still generic, to connote authority.).
On a tied note:
Does "Knickerbocker" mean anything? (it is a surname)
In the preface of the story: "Found among the papers of the late DIEDRICH KNICKERBOCKER." (again, i don't really have to include a footnote on this; just asking in case anyone knows ^_^ )
Lexicus
Deity
The pants these dudes are wearing are knickerbockers.
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