1

In The Markenmore Mystery (1922) by J. S. Fletcher, a detective was talking to a sexton about a murdered man:

“I suppose Mr. Guy Markenmore was pretty mad about her at that time, eh?” suggested Blick.

“Umph!” said Cripps. “Runned after her a deal, he did, to be sure. But he was a powerful bad ’un for running after women-folk of all sorts, high and low—turned the heads of half the lasses in this village, he did! Lord bless ’ee, he was always a-making love, all round—couldn’t help it, seemed so. Left some aching hearts behind him, did Master Guy when he went away to London town.”

1- What does "bad someone for doing" mean? 2- What could be the suitable meaning of "all round" in this context?

Improve this question
2
  • 1
    "all round" could mean he was dating (a)round - he was going out on dates with (a lot of) different girls. "bad" could mean he was unsuccessful in doing so (1) or people perceived his lifestyle as immoral (2), or he was notoriously known for this behaviour (3)
    – Andrew Tobilko
    Apr 10, 2021 at 19:12
  • @AndrewTobilko It's (2) and/or (3). "He was a bad 'un" (one) is an implied criticism. Another traditional expression for a woman's unwise choice of husband or lover is "a wrong 'un".
    – Kate Bunting
    Apr 11, 2021 at 8:36

1 Answer 1

Reset to default
2

This is somewhat dated regional dialect, so you should not expect a straightforward description in modern English.

He was a constant/regular/frequent flirt/skirt chaser/womanizer. That's the "powerful" and "running after women-folk". I think "bad un(one)" adds to the power as well as suggesting that the behavior is antisocial. He was in fact very good at it, not bad, since he "turned the heads of half the lasses".

"All round" is essentially all over the neighborhood, non stop. any time of day ...

Improve this answer

You must log in to answer this question.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged .