"He walked across the bridge" means he walked entire length of the bridge from one end to other end.
How do I describe the movement width-wise of bridge just like we used the word across for describing the movement length wise.
9
-
1He walked to the opposite parapet.– Weather VaneCommented Nov 22 at 18:22
-
He swerved back and forth.– XanneCommented Nov 22 at 19:55
-
Do you mean going back and forth, or crossing it width-wise just once? Both answers so far are for repeated crossings.– BarmarCommented Nov 22 at 20:00
-
@Barmar I thought the question was fairly clear that he is not walking along the bridge at all. He "crosses the bridge" but from one side to the other, not from one end to the other.– Weather VaneCommented Nov 22 at 20:12
-
2@PeterJennings Since walking width-wise is not a common way to use a bridge, I think it would always be interpreted as meaning the length. You need to be explicit if you're going the other direction, unless the context makes it obvious.– BarmarCommented Nov 22 at 23:55
|
Show 4 more comments
4 Answers
Context would normally be sufficient.
Now one day Pooh and Piglet and Rabbit and Roo were all playing Poohsticks together. They had dropped their sticks in when Rabbit said "Go!" and then they had hurried across to the other side of the bridge, and now they were all leaning over the edge, waiting to see whose stick would come out first. But it was a long time coming, because the river was very lazy that day, and hardly seemed to mind if it didn't ever get there at all. (The House at Pooh Corner, IN WHICH Pooh Invents a New Game and Eeyore Joins In.)
No doubt here what "the other side", means.
-
-
Less "need to describe context" Instead "Naturally the context would allow one to understand. It's hard to imagine a "real" situation in which "the other side" would not be understood. In my example, Milne doesn't "describe the context". He just writes about the game and you understand.– James KCommented Nov 24 at 21:09
He crisscrossed across the bridge.
-
1I like the word! I suggest adjusting the example ("criss-crossed" does not need "across") and adding a clear definition of what the word means and how it fits. Commented Nov 22 at 18:40
-
The phrase opposite parapet as commented is good. ResearchGate has this diagram.
He crossed over to the opposite parapet.
answered Nov 23 at 1:17
Simple terms to describe crossing the width of a bridge:
OP's Query:
"He walked across the bridge".
means he walked the entire length of the bridge, from one end to the other.
"He crossed the bridge on foot".
also conveys the same meaning.
However,
"He walked across the road at the zebra crossing".
means he moved from one side of the road to the other (not from one end to the other).
If you want to describe movement across the width of the bridge (side to side) rather than its length (end to end), you could say:
- "He moved laterally across/on the bridge."
- "He walked from one side of the bridge to the other side."
- "He crossed the width of the bridge."
- "He walked sideways across the bridge."
English doesn't have a single, commonly used word equivalent to "across" for this specific side-to-side context, so phrasing often depends on clarity and context.
