What does "... folding screen tipped on its side, and lined the collection box in red crêpe paper" mean?

Question

I have several questions about the sentence in bold from the novel Atonement by Ian McEwan.

THE PLAY—for which Briony had designed the posters, programs and tickets, constructed the sales booth out of a folding screen tipped on its side, and lined the collection box in red crêpe paper—was written by her in a two-day tempest of composition, causing her to miss a breakfast and a lunch. When the preparations were complete, she had nothing to do but contemplate her finished draft and wait for the appearance of her cousins from the distant north. ”

1. Does tipped mean "having a specified color or material on the end or tip"?

2. Is tipped an adjective?

3. Does folding mean "able to be folded into a smaller shape"?

4. Does screen mean "a large, flat, white surface on which images or movies are shown"?

5. Does "constructed the sales booth out of a folding screen tipped on its side" mean "Briony used a folding screen whose side is tipped to construct the sales booth"?

6. Does out of mean "used to say what something is made from"?

7. Does line in the sentence "and lined the collection box in red crêpe paper" mean "to cover the inner surface of (something)"?

8. Does in in the sentence "and lined the collection box in red crêpe paper" have same meaning as the word "with" in the sentence "I lined the box with paper"?

9. Which meaning of "in" is used in the sentence "and lined the collection box in red crêpe paper"?

http://learnersdictionary.com/definition/in

I looked up the word "in" in the Merriam-Webster Learner's Dictionary, but I couldn't find the definition of "in" which matches the meaning of "with" in the sentence: "I lined the box with paper".

10. Does the word "tempest" mean "a situation in which people are very upset or excited"?

http://www.macmillandictionary.com/dictionary/british/tempest

Answer 1

1. Does tipped mean "having a specified color or material on the end or tip"?

2. Is tipped an adjective?

English lets past participles of verbs act as modifiers (especially "post-positive" adjectives or adjectives that follow the noun instead of precede it), and the meaning of "X Y'ed" is a shortcut for "X that is Y'ed" or "X that has been Y'ed." So "folding screen tipped on its side" = "folding screen that has been tipped on its side"

3. Does folding mean "able to be folded into a smaller shape"?

4. Does screen mean "a large, flat, white surface on which images or movies are shown"?

English has a lot of "two word" compound "words," where two words together really describe a separate concept, even if the separate concept is related to meanings of the individual words. It's not worth breaking down the individual words in these instances, just pretend there's a hyphen between them making them one word. Ice cream is a classic example, and folding screen is pretty much one of these. This is what could possibly be meant by "folding screen".

6. Does out of mean "used to say what something is made from"?

Yes. Out of carries the implication that the things used to construct X are not normally used to create X.

7. Does line in the sentence "and lined the collection box in red crêpe paper" mean "to cover the inner surface of (something)"?

It can be used to mean to cover any flat surface with something thin like paper, implying decoration or protection. A typical meaning is to line a floor with newspaper to prevent a pet from making a permanent mess.

8. Does in in the sentence: "and lined the collection box in red crêpe paper" have same meaning as the word "with" in the sentence "I lined the box with paper"?

You could interchange in with with here. It's possible that with can be meant instrumentally, e.g. I lined the box with a tool X in substance Y whereas in can't have that meaning.

9. Which meaning of the word "in" is used in the sentence "and lined the collection box in red crêpe paper"?

If X covers Y completely, X can be said to be in Y. For example, if you hide under a blanket, you can be said to be in the blanknet. Or clothes.

I looked up the word "in" in the Merriam-Webster Learner's Dictionary, but I couldn't find the definition of "in" which matches the meaning of "with" in the sentence: "I lined the box with paper".

Prepositions in English and most languages are really flexible and depend on how the writer or speaker logically, spatially, or causatively perceives things at a given moment. Different writers/speakers may have different ways of looking at things and express things slightly differently. Exact definitions are really not possible for a dictionary to give. You will have to observe and imitate patterns you see in real text and speech to learn them completely.

10. Does the word "tempest" mean "a situation in which people are very upset or excited"?

Tempest is a rather evocative word that can mean "thing done in a frenzy of inspiration, fear, etc.". Keep in mind a tempest is a storm and that's the feeling the writer is trying to convey.

Answer 2

A simpler answer about the clause set off by 2 em dashes: which Briony had designed the posters, programs and tickets, constructed the sales booth out of a folding screen tipped on its side, and lined the collection box in red crêpe paper

Here is the parse:

1) Understanding the meaning: Briony /had designed the posters, programs and tickets/, [and had] /constructed the sales booth out of a folding screen tipped on its side/, and [had] /lined the collection box in red crêpe paper/ for the play written by her.

2) to construct X out of Y = to build something out of a material (paper, wood, cement etc.). To build or construct something OUT OF x is an idiom. It means: to build or construct something USING some material.

3) a /folding screen/ is a type of furniture, often placed in the corner of a room to cover a person or thing. Often, in theater dressing rooms, there is a folding screen where an actress can change her clothes while continuing a conversation with a visitor to that dressing room. Folding screens either provide privacy in a room or are used to cover something the person does not want to be open for everyone to see. A folding screen usually has three panels. You can fold it up (close it) and store it against a wall. The height of a folding screen is something like five feet high or a meter and a half.

4) So, this Briony took the folding screen and placed it so the three panels were horizontal rather than vertical. not like this: |||. That shape turned on its side. Tipped here means turned over on its side.

5) Yes, lined means to cover the surface of something (inner or not). Line something in red crepe paper is the same as line something with red crepe paper.

6) a tempest of composition means: as if there was a storm and it was written very hurriedly and with a lot of passion. Storms (tempest) evoke passion. __