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Peaceblinkfriend Posted 17 years ago
Vocabulary

..a habit of peering over her spectacles...

Hi all

I was reading an article on Reader's Digest site when this saying came up. Could you help me understand what is being implied here? Thank you

With her bemused tone and a habit of peering over her spectacles, Mikkelson has the air of a night-shift detective who has seen it all-and in a way, she has.

PBF
  

Top answer

It means she literally has a habit of doing that, but this behaviour is in turn supposed to suggest a certain sort of character. Exactly what sort of character is to some extent context-dependent and up to the reader to imagine, but I guess it may be anything from observant, to inquisitive, to knowing, to disapproving, and probably some other things mixed in too. In this case the author obviously thinks it's suggestive of "a night-shift detective who has seen it all".

— Mr Wordy

  • It means she literally has a habit of doing that, but this behaviour is in turn supposed to suggest a certain sort of character.
  • Exactly what sort of character is to some extent context-dependent and up to the reader to imagine, but I guess it may be anything from observant, to inquisitive, to knowing, to disapproving, and probably some other things mixed in too.
  • In this case the author obviously thinks it's suggestive of "a night-shift detective who has seen it all".
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1 Answers
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It means she literally has a habit of doing that, but this behaviour is in turn supposed to suggest a certain sort of character. Exactly what sort of character is to some extent context-dependent and up to the reader to imagine, but I guess it may be anything from observant, to inquisitive, to knowing, to disapproving, and probably some other things mixed in too. In this case the author obviously
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