Help plz

Posted by Lotg on May 17, 2003

In Reply to: Help plz posted by ESC on May 16, 2003

: : : : : hi,
: : : : : would like to know the meaning for the following...

: : : : : 1)flop into an armchair
: : : : : 2)to coin the dictum
: : : : : 3)to fight off temptations
: : : : : 4)drift over yellow water lagoon
: : : : : 5)flick out their tongues
: : : : : 6)lift their heads to eye me
: : : : : 7)my active two-year old wandered away
: : : : : 8)he had been snappish with her
: : : : : 9)she sets about preparing a celebration
: : : : : 10)marched out of the door
: : : : : 11)go off to tahiti
: : : : : 12)my mind in a turmoil
: : : : : 13)i pulled myself together
: : : : : 14)they scampered off
: : : : : 15)ticked off the names of every player
: : : : : 16)sets out to revive the pleasures of the table
: : : : : 17)several root crops are begining to take hold outside the andes
: : : : : 18)set out on a journy
: : : : : 19)waded into the channel
: : : : : 20)make beleive letter
: : : : : 21)tripped over
: : : : : 22)to head off
: : : : : 23)en route to ...
: : : : : 24)flood tieds off the french coast
: : : : : 25)sized him up
: : : : : 26)the catch of the twon
: : : : : 27)stormed out
: : : : : 28)loose your temper in a crunch
: : : : : 29)dishing out discipline
: : : : : 30)mete out their own punishment
: : : : : 31)assert their authority
: : : : : 32)let it go at that
: : : : : 33)stalked out

: : : : : thank you all for your help.

: : : : : Wow, you must be reading soooo much. Only I'm confused about some of your queries, eg. 7, 17 & 24. These simply appear to be parts of sentences in a story. Anyone else, am I wrong? They don't look like colloquialisms to me.

: : :
: : : to tell you the truth, I am, but I feel frustrated if I come across a phrase I don't know the meaning of. english language is just full of phrases.

: :
: : :: Fair comment, it often astounds me that anyone can speak and understand the English language with all it's anomalies.

: What might help is taking the phrases apart and looking the words up in a dictionary. Merriam-Webster Online is good -- www.merriam-webster.com/

: 1) flop into an armchair - sit down heavily and carelessly into a chair
: 2) to coin the dictum
: 3) to fight off temptations - to actively try to not do something that is harmful or immoral but that is also pleasurable.
: 4) drift over yellow water lagoon
: 5) flick out their tongues - tongues darting in and out quickly like a snake
: 6) lift their heads to eye me - lift their heads to stare, look intensely
: 7) my active two-year old wandered away - the little child left where he was supposed to stay
: 8) he had been snappish with her - spoke rudely, abruptly.
: 9) she sets about preparing a celebration - starts getting ready for a party or festive occasion
: 10) marched out of the door - Left in haste? Didn't linger.
: 11) go off to Tahiti - Tahiti is a tropical vacation spot
: 12) my mind in a turmoil - thinking troubled disjointed thoughts
: 13) I pulled myself together - Made myself calm. Returned to a normal state.
: 14) they scampered off - quickly left like little forest creatures
: 15) ticked off the names of every player - read or checked off the names
: 16) sets out to revive the pleasures of the table - tries to prepare a delicious meal. Good food and pleasant company.
: 17) several root crops are beginning to take hold outside the Andes. Root crops are like potatoes and carrots where the main edible part of the plant is the root.
: 18) set out on a journey - started on a trip
: 19) waded into the channel - waded usually means walking in water up to the knees.
: 20) make beleive letter
: 21) tripped over - literally stumbled over an object or found something by surprise.
: 22) to head off - To stop something at the beginning. Or "to head off" somewhere, to go.
: 23) en route to - on the way to somewhere. Traveling to.
: 24) flood tieds off the french coast - flood tides?
: 25) sized him up - Looked him over to see what sort of person he was.
: 26) the catch of the twon
: 27) stormed out - left angry.
: 28) loose your temper in a crunch - Lose (one "o") your composure during a stressful situation.
: 29) dishing out discipline - Giving punishment.
: 30)mete out their own punishment - Giving punishment
: 31) assert their authority - Show who is boss, who is in charge.
: 32) let it go at that - Let it stand. Don't take further action.
: 33) stalked out - Left angry.

::: I'll attempt to fill in the 4 previously unanswered points as well...

2) coin the dictum - similar to coin a phrase, a dictum being a saying, maxim, motto, etc.

4) Drift over yellow water lagoon - this sounds like no more than a descriptive excerpt from a book. Simply saying that the lagoon someone was drifting over was yellow in colour.

20) Make believe letter - probably means imaginary letter, but I don't know why or if it's a saying of some sort.

26) Catch of the town - Don't know, maybe inferring that a man or woman, might be the most desirable potential partner (single and available) in town.