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I was reading an article from The New Yorker and I came across one sentence that I couldn't really understand.

The map runs to sixteen laminated foolscap pages, or about ten square feet, when I tile the pages together. I have been given it on the condition that I do not pass it on. It is not like any map I have ever seen, and I have seen some strange maps in my time.

Is there anybody that could help me to explain/rephrase the second sentence so that the structure or the meaning could be more lucid to understand?

Here's the link for the original article. https://www.newyorker.com/news/dispatch/the-invisible-city-beneath-paris

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    I'm not sure what your problem with this sentence is. It seems to only use standard English. Do you not understand "I have been given it" or "on the condition", or "pass it on". Perhaps you could say what you think this means how you understood it and why you are unsure.
    – James K
    May 25, 2019 at 15:55
  • Oh I wasn't realized what the "it" refers to, now I get it.
    – Sihao Gao
    May 26, 2019 at 4:22

1 Answer 1

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I have been given it on the condition that I do not pass it on.

The person who gave the author the map made the author agree to a condition. The condition is that the author of the article cannot pass the map on to other people (give it to other people.)

"On (the) condition that" is a set phrase meaning something happens only if a condition is met.

Merriam Webster:

only if

She spoke on the condition that she not be identified.
He taught me the trick on condition that I never tell anyone else how to do it.

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  • Wow, that downvote was quick! Three seconds I reckon. I bet it sets a record.
    – Eddie Kal
    May 25, 2019 at 15:27
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    I can't see any justification for downvoting either the question or this answer, so I've upvoted both to negate the efforts of the driveby troll (who the system might ban soon anyway, in which case your lost points will presumably be restored! :)
    – FumbleFingers
    May 25, 2019 at 16:17

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