What does 'across the level' mean here, and 'striking off across' mean
With a short laugh he threw it down on the bed, and pulling on his old black hat, he went out, striking off across the level.
On the Divide by Willa Cather
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1 Answer
The word "level" appears four times in that story. The first appearance is at the beginning, where it appears in the first sentence "... the level Nebraska plain...".
In the sentence you quote, it means that he walked across the land, which is very flat.
answered Mar 23, 2020 at 8:09
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is it always the case, I mean is "level" synonymous with "plain" ? or is a case of a writer trying to be creative with the language? Commented Mar 23, 2020 at 8:29
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@Fermichem en.wiktionary.org/wiki/level#Noun 9. (Britain) An area of almost perfectly flat land.– user96061Commented Mar 23, 2020 at 11:35
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What does 'striking off across' the level mean? Does it mean just - he went outside?– VitalyCommented Mar 23, 2020 at 11:39
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1It means he left. "strike" can mean "(intransitive) To set off on a walk or trip." en.wiktionary.org/wiki/strike#Verb– user96061Commented Mar 23, 2020 at 11:55
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