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I have problem understanding the following statement in a trade context:

The total price for this order is X Euro including truck-worthy packing and export permits.

What does the author mean by truck-worthy packing?

1 Answer 1

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He means "packed to prevent damage when transported by truck".
This could be stable boxes, perhaps with packing peanuts or styrofoam, foil-wrapped on a pallet, liquid in approriate containers... whatever fits the goods.


Edit as requested:

TheFreeDictionary gives the following definition for word-combos of the pattern [noun]worthy:

-worthy
a combining form of worthy, used with the meanings “deserving of, fit for” (newsworthy; trustworthy), “capable of travel in or on” (roadworthy; seaworthy) the thing specified by the initial element.
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.

So using this definition:

-"truckworthy" means "fit to be transported in a truck" and

-"truckworthy packaging" a form of packaging that ensures said quality. For examples, see original answer above.

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  • Well done! I just googled and this was the only page that came up! Could you add a little explanation of how you figured out the meaning of this phrase? That might shed some more general light on how a fluent speaker makes sense of unfamiliar phrases (as suggested by FumbleFingers' post here and, IMO, making the most interesting and useful answers).
    – Ben Kovitz
    Commented Feb 18, 2015 at 18:16
  • @BenKovitz: I even found a dictionary definition (tucked in with a load of others), much to my surprise.... Was this edit what you had in mind?
    – Stephie
    Commented Feb 18, 2015 at 18:40
  • Did you find the definition of -worthy before or after you wrote your original answer? (I'm interested in how you actually figured it out, not whether you can find justification in a dictionary.)
    – Ben Kovitz
    Commented Feb 18, 2015 at 19:03
  • Even as non-native speaker (I'm German), sometimes it's hard to say why you know. But I'll try to give my line of reasoning: Worthy has not only a sense of (monetary) value, but of fitness, appropriateness, being a good match... From there, truckworthy could only be worth for a truck (not worth a truck). Or, very sloppyly "good for transportation on a truck". Context is crucial, as usual. The examples in my answer are just common knowledge. If I hadn't found the dictionary entry (in <30 seconds & after your comment), I might have tried to put this line of thought into something readable.
    – Stephie
    Commented Feb 18, 2015 at 20:05
  • I think that is worthy of being included in your answer. :)
    – Ben Kovitz
    Commented Feb 18, 2015 at 21:18

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