0
Anonymous Posted 15 years ago
Vocabulary
Churned and charred
Hello,
In the book "Parrot and Olivier in America" by Peter Carey, I came across the following sentence:
"I turned toward the burned man’s canvas which was as crisp as he was churned and charred, and which displayed, to the most elevated degree, the achievement of that ambition he had confessed to me so many years before. I will produce a book, he had told me, containing all the birds in the world. "
Context: Parrot is watching a burned painter. This painter burned his skin during a big fire many years ago.
I understand the word "charred". I think "crisp" means "sharp, clear-cut, full of contrast". But as for the word "charred", I have found in my dictionary that it means "to agitate or stir (milk or cream) in order to make butter" which doesn't make sense to me. Could you, please, explain to me, what "churned" means in this context.
Many thanks.
Read more: http://www.answers.com/topic/churn#ixzz1IXzED3WB
In the book "Parrot and Olivier in America" by Peter Carey, I came across the following sentence:
"I turned toward the burned man’s canvas which was as crisp as he was churned and charred, and which displayed, to the most elevated degree, the achievement of that ambition he had confessed to me so many years before. I will produce a book, he had told me, containing all the birds in the world. "
Context: Parrot is watching a burned painter. This painter burned his skin during a big fire many years ago.
I understand the word "charred". I think "crisp" means "sharp, clear-cut, full of contrast". But as for the word "charred", I have found in my dictionary that it means "to agitate or stir (milk or cream) in order to make butter" which doesn't make sense to me. Could you, please, explain to me, what "churned" means in this context.
Many thanks.
Read more: http://www.answers.com/topic/churn#ixzz1IXzED3WB
Top answer
I think that it is an imaginative use of the adjective. If the situation is as you say it is, then from my memory of bad burn injuries, the appearance of the regenerated skin is rather swirled - the grain runs in various directions - and that might suggest 'churned' to the writer.
- I think that it is an imaginative use of the adjective.
- If the situation is as you say it is, then from my memory of bad burn injuries, the appearance of the regenerated skin is rather swirled - the grain runs in various directions - and that might suggest 'churned' to the writer.
Get the Weekly English Kit 📬
New words, one handy idiom, and a 2-minute quiz — delivered to your inbox to keep your streak alive.
1 Answers
0
I think that it is an imaginative use of the adjective. If the situation is as you say it is, then from my memory of bad burn injuries, the appearance of the regenerated skin is rather swirled - the grain runs in various directions - and that might suggest 'churned' to the writer.
0
Related Questions