Happy to help

Posted by GPP August 17, 2003In reply to A question, kathaab posted by ESC on August 17, 2003

hi..here's today's phrases..thank you all.

1.if she wasn't so high-maintenence.

2.I cannot be at her beck and call 5 times a day.

3.it keeps the show from getting on the road

4.he once raised the prospect of having someone assassinated.

5.hang out all day, getting high

6.to nag him about getting his life together

7.started to play out his fantasies

8.the body sprawled out on the bed

9.fed off the memory of his first victim

10.on the spur of the moment

11.he was on a full-blown rampage.

12.lashed out again

13.and forced her to perform fellatio on him

14.had just drifted off to sleep

15.was on the prowl for another vehicle he could steal

You always have fascinating phrases, but sometimes I find myself wondering whether you've already looked up the meanings of all the unfamiliar words, and are just unsure how they fit into the sentence or phrase you've listed. For example, in #15, "on the prowl" is slang, but "for another vehicle he could steal" should probably be clear if you understand the individual words. It is indeed helpful for you to include as much context as you do, but perhaps it would help others understand exactly which parts you'd like assistance with if you would bracket them, as, for instance, "15.was [on the prowl] for another vehicle he could steal". Or, in #4, is your question about the phrase "raised the prospect"? In #8, the phrase "sprawled out"? The dictionary you're using might very well not include the word "fellatio", in #13--it's a sexual activity that's not usually discussed in polite society (which we here obviously are NOT), but you should be able to find a definition in any online dictionary.

Please don't take these suggestions as criticisms of your postings; I'm only trying to clarify exactly which parts you do or do not already understand.

I really don't want to be a bother to anyone, but I like reading in English and if I come across a phrase I don't understand I feel frustrated, so I seek help here where I get a quick and an easy answers to my questions. Thank you again for your unlimited help.

You aren't a bother. I'm happy to help when I can.

Yes, you're extremely helpful, ESC, and I'm always amazed by your effortless facility in expressing these concepts so uniformly clearly and simply--you have a wonderful talent for it. I assure you, kathaab, that I hadn't meant to suggest you were in any way a bother; your questions are precisely the purpose of this website. :-)