Questions tagged [meaning-in-context]

This tag is for questions about the meaning of a word or a phrase in a specific context, which a dictionary cannot answer. Please give as much context as possible.

Filter by
Sorted by
Tagged with
2 votes
1 answer
68 views

I don't understand the role of 'that I was' here

SOURCE   (Michelle Phan) From an early age my ambitions were driven by the expectations of others and being the people pleaser that I was, I'd spent the rest of my youth chasing after my ...
dbwlsld's user avatar
  • 3,461
3 votes
3 answers
637 views

Is "hitching" an adjective in "tying ... to the hitching rail"?

...then, tying the horse to the hitching rail... What is the function of "hitching" here? I initially thought it was an adjective, but could not find a translation in any dictionary indicating that ...
Bavyan Yaldo's user avatar
  • 3,037
0 votes
0 answers
751 views

What does "sleep through an earthquake" mean?

I heard this phrase recently in a podcast. I am not sure If I heard it right, but I couldn't find its meaning. Here is the exact sentence I heard, She can sleep through an earthquake. My ...
Codeformer's user avatar
3 votes
2 answers
166 views

What is the meaning of Annie's words about the author?

SOURCE  "Field of Dreams", 1989 Context: Protester giving speech to ban the author's books which were published in the 60s because of too much racism etc. For these words one of the ...
Adbert Wick's user avatar
0 votes
2 answers
981 views

Understanding a clause starting with "you can barely move for..."

SOURCE In parts of South America, you can barely move for beautiful people chipping their nail polish on endangered hardwoods, and, in Africa, cuddling up to wild animals. Tracy Ward, the actress and ...
Zeinab arbabi's user avatar
1 vote
1 answer
52 views

A.T. = Appalachian Trail in sentence?

I've found this sentence in Google Books: Somewhat more permanent are small anodized metal “A.T.” diamonds that the original trailblazers nailed along the path in the 1930s and 1940s. Context ...
mondegreen dispenser's user avatar
0 votes
3 answers
466 views

What is the meaning of Annie words?

Annie is talking to his fake Dad & telling him about his real Dad character during wedding anniversary before Annie's mother Annie: Dad always does something really special for the anniversary. ...
Adbert Wick's user avatar
0 votes
1 answer
920 views

What does "and then yeh gotta find yer way" mean here?

Harry : "Why would you be mad to try and rob Gringotts(Wizards' bank)?" Hagrid : "Spells-enchantments," said Hagrid, unfolding his newspaper as he spoke. "They say there's dragons guardin' the ...
dbwlsld's user avatar
  • 3,461
6 votes
1 answer
114 views

What exactly America rejecting it & why it was rejecting?

In English Romantic Comedy movie Serendipity (2001), Jonathan Trager, Salesman & his friend Dane searching the information of Sara Thomas. Jonathan Trager has account number of her shopping bill. ...
Tommy Sledge's user avatar
0 votes
1 answer
71 views

What does "have been through two or three jobs" mean?

I don't quite understand the implication of this sentence. Why won't they have to cope with more expensive borrowing? Does a finance director have to borrow money to be through a job? "First, it ...
haile's user avatar
  • 5,203
1 vote
1 answer
95 views

What is the meaning of Bob's words?

Paul found some Nazi Vinyl records in Bob's house, so he asked about him it. Bob: Not mine. Nazi stuff belongs to Moburg. Paul: Moburg lives here? Bob: He keeps his uniform here. I never ...
Ashleigh Boyle's user avatar
2 votes
1 answer
735 views

What is the meaning of "Some days are two sizes too small"?

Sanderson is waiting for Paul to began the meeting, so Paul arrived & Sanderson welcoming him. Sanderson: There he is. Paul, come in. Paul: Sorry. There were unexpected developments. I had ...
Ashleigh Boyle's user avatar
0 votes
1 answer
135 views

Does it mean he has no doubt about it?

"I would not dare to say that there is a direct link between mathematics and madness, but there is no doubt that great mathematicians suffer from maniacal characteristics, delirium and symptoms of ...
IbrahimH's user avatar
2 votes
1 answer
141 views

Meaning of "X stands surety for Y"

I am not sure about the meaning of the highlighted part of the following sentence: A clear foe of the brute force deployed so unilaterally by the stupidly authoritarian Roman Empire, Getafix ...
mondegreen dispenser's user avatar
4 votes
1 answer
77 views

What is the meaning of Murray words in his conditions?

In English Adventure movie The Lost City of Z (2016), Murray volunteered to join Percy Fawcett's Geographic mission. Murray was unable to survive due to lot of adventures and then gave up his journey ...
Working Man's user avatar
0 votes
0 answers
3k views

What does it mean by 'tongue between someone's teeth'?

"Gallopin' Gorgons, that reminds me," said Hagird, ....... he pulled an owl-a real, live, rather ruffled-looking owl-a long quill, and a roll of parchment. With his tongue between his teeth he ...
dbwlsld's user avatar
  • 3,461
2 votes
1 answer
220 views

About the usage of some words in literature

How to understand lay some way out. The following is a piece of excerpt from Treasure Island The Hispaniola lay some way out, and we went under the figureheads and around the sterns of many ...
Kris's user avatar
  • 117
1 vote
1 answer
18k views

what is the difference between 'under construction' and 'renovation'?

I saw some sentences. This was written as 'His Web site is still under construction.' I think it means 'repair process of existing web site' so I chose answer 'He has an online portfolio in his ...
Liquid.Bear's user avatar
1 vote
1 answer
1k views

Not understood meaning of sentence

What does this sentence mean?⬇ "Your teachers coming to our schools would fulfil the contract." Especially "Your teachers coming to our schools..." I do not really know how to understand this.
disturbia's user avatar
0 votes
2 answers
2k views

What does 'through a mouthful of nails' mean here?

Uncle Vernon didn't go to work that day. He stayed at home and nailed up the mail slot. "See" he explained to Aunt Petunia through a mouthful of nails, "if they can't deliver them they'll just give up....
dbwlsld's user avatar
  • 3,461
1 vote
1 answer
181 views

If John does ten pushups, does that mean he does nine reps?

When talking about pushups, we know the word rep comes from repetition. But is rep really the same as repetition in this context? If John does ten pushups, he does nine repetitions, plus the first ...
Apollyon's user avatar
  • 5,966
0 votes
1 answer
139 views

What does “brimstone” mean in this context?

Then, stepping into his extended hand, and condescending to be held out at arm’s length, he gave vent to a succession of sounds, not unlike the drawing of some eight or ten dozen of long corks, and ...
Jose Mourinho's user avatar
2 votes
1 answer
135 views

What does "dying weeks" imply?

The Obama administration had identified a more direct solution. In its dying weeks it filed a case at the WTO, suing China for its aluminium subsidies. (The Economist) Could this(dying weeks) mean ...
jack bang's user avatar
  • 759
3 votes
1 answer
21k views

What does "love is love is love" mean?

Often hear it in connection to LGBT. Can anyone please explain what it means? I get the original version: "love is love" but I don't understand the syntax of Lin-Manuel Miranda's poem.
Probably's user avatar
  • 1,589
5 votes
1 answer
12k views

"figurative" vs "metaphorical"

What is the difference between two these terms? Are they interchangeably used? Because when I sometimes look at the dictionary, I see this term, figurative, attached to some words which can be used ...
Bavyan Yaldo's user avatar
  • 3,037
3 votes
3 answers
6k views

"The Night of": common phrase ? Or just "the night of <something>"?

I have been watching the television drama "The Night Of", and I am not sure how the title should be understood: I can't find another example of a phrase where the preposition "of" is used without a ...
Greg's user avatar
  • 175
1 vote
1 answer
1k views

What is the meaning of "rolling"?

I hear "Roll" as a verb in different sentences. The meanings that I find in dictionaries do not fully explain the exact meaning in those sentences. For instance, in the following sentence : "We ...
Maryam's user avatar
  • 2,375
1 vote
1 answer
56 views

How to interpret the following clause with a particular tonality

Here is an example sentence from a textbook: The man and the woman | dressed in black | then stood up. The upright slashes denote chuncking the clause into intonation groups for speech. I am ...
Eunice's user avatar
  • 251
1 vote
2 answers
767 views

What does "it" represent in this context?

If we take light for example, is it a wave or a particle? What is the 'true' nature of light? Is it a mixture of waves and particles or is it the way in which we try to make sense of light, by ...
Jihyung Kang's user avatar
3 votes
1 answer
192 views

W'y, ter read, o' course

"Here's yer mornin' paper!" yelled a newsboy. "Mine, did you say?" she asked. "Sure! Chronicle, 'Quirer, R'public 'n' 'Spatch! Wot'll ye 'ave?" "What are they for?" inquired the wax lady, simply. "...
bart-leby's user avatar
  • 8,663
8 votes
4 answers
3k views

Meaning of the word "smart"

What does the word smart mean in this context? Is she smart meaning she is intelligent She is clean, neat, well dressed I've looked up in dictionaries and I'm still confused what does smart mean in ...
Ruslan Mukhanov's user avatar
1 vote
1 answer
83 views

Is the use of "present during" in "...capturing feelings present during a reading..." correct?

Art style and music create a very mysterious and terrifying atmosphere accurately capturing feelings present during a reading of this short story. I want to say that a movie's atmosphere captures or ...
Delyew's user avatar
  • 23
1 vote
2 answers
6k views

Does 'much later' here mean just 'a lot later' or 'for a long time'?

Uncle Vernon waited until Piers was safely out of the house before starting on harry. He was so angry he could hardly speak. He managed to say, "Go-Cupboard-stay-no meals," before he collapsed into a ...
dbwlsld's user avatar
  • 3,461
2 votes
1 answer
142 views

What does "That's bankster" mean?

Does it mean "That is something bad for the banking system"? https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/bankster The credit-to-GDP gap has reached a critical level in Canada. The BIS defines this ...
haile's user avatar
  • 5,203
0 votes
2 answers
3k views

If we are talking about last night which one is correct to say

I haven't slept much today or I haven't slept much yesterday. When we are reffering to the night that was between today and yesterday. Thank you!
Peter's user avatar
  • 299
1 vote
2 answers
401 views

Help me understand the phrase from the image: "to nervously ask you to prom"

Again asking for Your help as native English speakers. I'm studying English, I really like it. I am not a native English speaker, my native language is Russian. For me not understand the phrase: "to ...
Vladimir Glinskikh's user avatar
0 votes
1 answer
234 views

stroking or stroke

I'm reading National Geographic magazine, this is paragraph: To a lobster couple, this is normal sex: For days the female squirts urine into the den of her desired mate. Beguiled by the scent, he ...
David John's user avatar
1 vote
1 answer
3k views

the meaning of the phrase: "she sucks badly at it"

What does the phrase: "she sucks badly at it" mean? My hypotheses are: She doesn't like it She is bad at doing it It is a passage from the Emily Giffin's book "Where We Belong". If you need more ...
Ruslan Mukhanov's user avatar
0 votes
1 answer
6k views

Present perfect in context: "We haven't paid the phone bill yet."

A son wanted to buy a camera, but his mother told him that they don't have enough money and then turned his attention to the gas bill. Here I understand that she wanted to drop him a hint that she has ...
Roman Filinski's user avatar
0 votes
1 answer
2k views

What is the meaning of "...up close they turn cold"

I posted a question here, & somebody posted their comment on it. Males often have more desire from a distance, but up close they turn cold. The opposite applies to females. What does turn ...
Tabbatha Silver's user avatar
2 votes
2 answers
188 views

What does "disagreeing about" mean in this question?

Samuel and Tova are committed to disagreeing about which one of the following? A.________ B.________ C.________ I have two different interpretations about this question. Choose the ...
user198952's user avatar
3 votes
2 answers
2k views

Breathed deep vs. breathing deeply

He looked at the stone figures all around them, breathed deep in the chill of silence of the crypt. (A Game of Thrones) I think he should have put breathing deeply instead of breathed deep, for two ...
Bavyan Yaldo's user avatar
  • 3,037
1 vote
1 answer
109 views

How to analyze and rewrite this sentence?

I encountered a sentence- "It would be difficult to find two languages that are the communicating coin of two more different cultures than those gathered around these two languages." , which makes ...
Maigebaoer's user avatar
-1 votes
2 answers
69 views

What does "steepening of the U.S. Treasury curve" mean? [closed]

Does it mean "the bonds yield will go up"? "Let's not forget here: The U.S. expansion, while being soft, is actually pretty mature so the Fed is getting lined up here in preparation for the next ...
haile's user avatar
  • 5,203
3 votes
1 answer
76 views

What does "a franchise-low debut weekend haul" mean?

I don't know much about the film industry. So can anybody explain it for me, please? And one more thing, do you have to pay for previews? "The most recent 'Transformers' film, "The Last Knight," ...
haile's user avatar
  • 5,203
2 votes
2 answers
1k views

What is the meaning of "when three sources tell you the same thing word for word, you know they're lying"?

Mason getting ready to document dangerous place so before leaving she talks to Jerry on phone. Jerry: I don't get it. Why do you want a gig documenting a mapping mission when you're up for the ...
Christian Trauco's user avatar
1 vote
1 answer
32 views

take as a has code for X an integer interpretation of its bits, Meaning

I read a following sentence in the book Data Structure & Algorithm in Python(Page 412): To begin, we note that, for any data type X that is represented using at most as many bits as our integer ...
Jesse's user avatar
  • 193
0 votes
3 answers
297 views

What does "meet" mean in this passage?

I am not english native speaker; I am italian. I couldn't understand meaning "meet" in this context. As noted in CCP Standard 2.2, the Board operates eight Board-level committees to aid in the ...
PeerPaso's user avatar
0 votes
1 answer
200 views

What is the difference among dealt/get dealt/got dealt?

What is the difference in the meaning among these following sentences? A. Priority cases get dealt with first. B. Priority cases are dealt with first. C. Priority cases are got dealt with ...
Bavyan Yaldo's user avatar
  • 3,037
3 votes
2 answers
4k views

"The best outcome for Spain…" Is there any ambiguity as to the meaning of this phrase?

Consider this sentence: "The best outcome for Spain would be to permit the referendum, and for Catalan voters to reject independence" (Source, In the last paragraph) Would this mean that the best ...
Mikel Aranburu's user avatar

1
130 131
132
133 134
198