What Do These Words Mean in English
What Do These Words Mean in English
| Posted: Wednesday, October 4, 2017 11:09:03 AM |
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Hi friends,
I read a novel and got some questions on the following words:-
A: "Why do you love him, B?"
B: "Well, because he is handsome, and pleasant to be with."
A: "Bad!" was my commentary.
B: "Because he is young and cheerful."
A: "Bad still."
B: "And because he loves me."
A: "Indifferent, coming there."
B: "And he will be rich, and I shall like to be the greatest woman of the neighbourhood, and I shall be proud of having such a husband."
A: "Worst of all. And now, say how you love him?"
B: "As anybody loves—You're silly, A."
A: "Not at all—Answer."
B: "I love the ground under his feet, and the air over his head, and everything he touches, and every word he says. I love all his looks, and all his actions, and him entirely and altogether. There now!"
Could anyone let me know the meaning of 'coming there' and 'there now' in the above sentence?
Thank you.
| Posted: Wednesday, October 4, 2017 11:34:46 AM |
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QP wrote:
Hi friends,
I read a novel and got some questions on the following words:-
A: "Indifferent, coming there."
B: "I love the ground under his feet, and the air over his head, and everything he touches, and every word he says. I love all his looks, and all his actions, and him entirely and altogether. There now!"
Could anyone let me know the meaning of 'coming there' and 'there now' in the above sentence?
Thank you.
"Coming there" may mean "You're getting there," a common expression meaning "You're approaching the correct answer."
"There now" is a common expression delivered emphatically, that means "That's my complete answer, and you should be satisfied with it."
| Posted: Wednesday, October 4, 2017 12:17:13 PM |
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I've never heard "coming there" in my life.
| Posted: Wednesday, October 4, 2017 1:05:41 PM |
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Could "coming there" mean "getting there," "you're getting there," or "you're getting close"?
I agree with Wilmar; I don't think I have ever encountered this usage.
| Posted: Wednesday, October 4, 2017 2:44:25 PM |
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As I read it, "coming there" suggests that the response ("because he loves me") would have been more significant if it had come earlier in the list. That is, it's "indifferent" because it was not the first response.
| Posted: Wednesday, October 4, 2017 3:51:41 PM |
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I read it as "getting there" because she had progressed from "bad" to "indifferent"?
And just to make it unanimous, I've not heard 'coming there' used; and find it rather imprecise in meaning.
| Posted: Wednesday, October 4, 2017 5:39:52 PM |
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I'm wondering if the novel was originally in another language. The English, while completely understandable, is a bit odd in places as if translated literally rather than idiomatically.
Allana
| Posted: Wednesday, October 4, 2017 10:37:47 PM |
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For more information, my teacher said it is from a classic English literature written in the 18th century. It is old novel.
| Posted: Thursday, October 5, 2017 12:34:47 AM |
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Oh! You reminded me something, QP.
This is an excerpt taken from Emily Bronte's novel, 'Wuthering Heights'. Interestingly, I had read a good part of this story long back, just because of this excerpt. Years back, during a chit chat with my friends, one of them quoted this line and amused us with the expression of love stated in it. "I love the ground under his feet, and the air over his head." I got the novel, but could not finish it (I am not a reader type).
Years after, you took me back down the lanes of memory. Thanks.
| Posted: Thursday, October 5, 2017 5:35:08 AM |
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That definitely explains the odd English. language does change over the years.
Allana
| Posted: Monday, October 9, 2017 11:55:12 AM |
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QP, can you obtain the novel's title and author and post them here? My curiosity is a-raging.
| Posted: Monday, October 9, 2017 12:23:45 PM |
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Srirr had it - Emily Brontë, Wuthering Heights. Written in 1846. Despite the diacritic on the name, they were very English - more specifically Yorkshire people, with quite a lot of local dialect in their writing.
But I agree with NKM here - I think it is just one person giving a list of reasons, and the other commenting. That response 'coming here' in the list is a sign of its lack of impact.
Personally, from what I have seen, beard and read of the book,in all seriousness and in parody and in hommage, I find the characters self-indulgent drama queens. Grow up and get over it, or at least stop whining about it!
I wonder why I am neither a novelist nor a counsellor!
But anyway, enjoy!
| Posted: Monday, October 9, 2017 2:25:14 PM |
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I hereby confess that I have this book in my library and read it years ago. I was thrown off by the description as an "18th-century" novel. It's a classic 19th-century novel.
But thanks!
Source: https://forum.thefreedictionary.com/postst176515_What-do-these-words-mean-.aspx
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