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Interventizio Posted 13 years ago
Vocabulary

Defy the purpose/break the deal

Hi
I have a doubt. Imagine somebody who is a vegetarian. He wants to go to a restaurant (he likes its classiness) where they only serve meat. A friend would say to him:
"They only serve meat there, doesn't that DEFY THE PURPOSE/BREAK THE DEAL?" (Meaning: there's no point for you to go there).
Which one is better? If neither is, how would you say it?
  

Top answer

Interventizio Which one is better? If neither is, how would you say it? Neither is, I'm afraid.

— Mister Micawber

  • Interventizio Which one is better?
  • If neither is, how would you say it?
  • Neither is, I'm afraid.
  • You have mixed your phrasing (and the other one is wrong).
  • They only serve meat there.
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4 Answers
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InterventizioWhich one is better? If neither is, how would you say it?
Neither is, I'm afraid. You have mixed your phrasing (and the other one is wrong).

They only serve meat there. Doesn't that DEFEAT THE PURPOSE?

That is the phrase, but I'm not sure that it is meaningful in this situation. What purpose is being defeated?
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I read some say in forums that a smartphone (or a piece of electronics anyway) had too low a resolution, or too big a screen, and that would "break the deal" for them, meaning they wouldn't buy it because of that lacking feature/wrong specification etc.
Maybe, a "what is the point of..." would do it. What do you think? Or else, any alternative?
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Interventiziowhat is the point of...
That I like.

'Break the deal' is no phrase I know (it seems to mean that the agreement is complete) and I think your forum denizens are confusing 'sour the deal' and 'break the contract'—but it doesn't fit your sentence anyway.
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