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Mitsuo23 Posted 15 years ago
Grammar

A decent cut of meat.

Hi,

Would you tell me what the underlined "decent" is describing in the sentences below?

Where can I get a decent cup of coffee? (a cup or coffee?)


I have enough money to buy a decent cut of meat. (a cut, meat, or a cut of meat?)



Thank you,

M
  

Top answer

In the first, the idea is decent coffee: 'cuppa' is tightly bound to 'coffee' for most speakers. The 2nd is not so easy. Cups do not affect coffee quality, but cuts do affect meat quality, so the speaker could be thinking of buying a filet mignon intstead of a flank steak, or s/he could be thinking of buying Kobe beef instead of bits of the neighborhood cow.

— Mister Micawber

  • In the first, the idea is decent coffee: 'cuppa' is tightly bound to 'coffee' for most speakers.
  • The 2nd is not so easy.
  • Cups do not affect coffee quality, but cuts do affect meat quality, so the speaker could be thinking of buying a filet mignon intstead of a flank steak, or s/he could be thinking of buying Kobe beef instead of bits of the neighborhood cow.
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2 Answers
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In the first, the idea is decent coffee: 'cuppa' is tightly bound to 'coffee' for most speakers.

The 2nd is not so easy. Cups do not affect coffee quality, but cuts do affect meat quality, so the speaker could be thinking of buying a filet mignon intstead of a flank steak, or s/he could be thinking of buying Kobe beef instead of bits of the neighborhood cow.
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It sounds like I should read the context carefully and use my common sense.

Thank you for the reply always,

M
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