More questions!

Posted by ESC on May 15, 2004

In Reply to: More questions! posted by Smokey Stover on May 15, 2004

: : Smokey, thank you very much for your profound answer. Would you please elaborate more on the following:

: : 1. "And they didn't have to skip anything either" - They were not allowed to skip anything?

: : 2. "Heaven help me!"
: : Can you please say it in another words in the context of the excerpt?

: 1. They should not skip over the racy parts, that is, omit them, to spare my tender years from indecency. He wants to hear all the naughty bits. "They didn't have to skip," in this context, means they'd better not skip.

: 2. Heaven help me! Well, if it could be expressed in plain English, it wouldn't be an expletive or ejaculation, would it? I'm tempted to suggest, "For my sins," or "Heaven knows," but we have the same problem. He's saying, colorfully, that he and God both know that he's a sinner and has been sinning, but how much this bothers him is not clear from this small excerpt. Perhaps "Heaven help me" could be construed as a plea for God to give him the strength to do better (to help him to do better), but I don't know that much about him or his state of mind. Expressions invoking God should not be taken literally unless you know enough to be sure that they should. And unless you are sure, guessing won't advance the story or enlarge our knowledge of the narrator's intent in saying something. God and the heavens are pretty casually invoked by most English-speakers. Perhaps someone will step up and give a better explanation. SS

"Heaven help me" is a mild expression of distress or exasperation.

• Heaven help me! R.Berg 16/May/04
  • Heaven help us all ESC 16/May/04
    • Thanks very much to all of you! Natty 16/May/04