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Newguest Posted 15 years ago
Vocabulary
Had the right of it .../go on, not the police
Hi
Two women were talking. One of them tells another about a certain woman who disappeared from the village on Sunday.
What a way to leave Mr Tharkell, who’d kind of made
a job for her. Ah, but even if she owed him a month’s
notice, she had the right of it there, for he said himself that
she had a month’s wages due on the Monday. Right
bothered, he was.He’d always had a soft spot for her, ever
since she ’d nursed him through the jaundice. Rung up the
police, he had. Go on, not the police. Yes, the police; said
she was missing. Know what the police said?Unless she’d
committed some crime, it was no affair of theirs; she was
a grown woman, free to come and go as she wished. Did
Mr Tharkell have any reason to think anything had
happened to her, like murder or such? Then there was
nothing they could do.
Does it mean she had the right to leave without notice because he paid her on Mondays? I don't understand it.
He had rung up the police. "Go on, not the police".
It sounds like the woman who was reporting this to another woman didn't like he called the police, but I'm not sure?
Two women were talking. One of them tells another about a certain woman who disappeared from the village on Sunday.
What a way to leave Mr Tharkell, who’d kind of made
a job for her. Ah, but even if she owed him a month’s
notice, she had the right of it there, for he said himself that
she had a month’s wages due on the Monday. Right
bothered, he was.He’d always had a soft spot for her, ever
since she ’d nursed him through the jaundice. Rung up the
police, he had. Go on, not the police. Yes, the police; said
she was missing. Know what the police said?Unless she’d
committed some crime, it was no affair of theirs; she was
a grown woman, free to come and go as she wished. Did
Mr Tharkell have any reason to think anything had
happened to her, like murder or such? Then there was
nothing they could do.
Does it mean she had the right to leave without notice because he paid her on Mondays? I don't understand it.
He had rung up the police. "Go on, not the police".
It sounds like the woman who was reporting this to another woman didn't like he called the police, but I'm not sure?
Top answer
" The usage is old fashioned. " Newguest Go on, not the police This is a little bit old fashioned too. " It's not that she doesn't like the idea.
- " The usage is old fashioned.
- " Newguest Go on, not the police This is a little bit old fashioned too.
- " It's not that she doesn't like the idea.
- She's very surprised by it.
- " (same meaning)
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10 Answers
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Newguestshe had the right of it thereI take "right" here to mean "She was right/correct."
"She had it right." "She was in the right." "She was on the right side of the argument."
The usage is old fashioned.
I don't take it as "She had a/the right to X."
NewguestGo on, not the policeThis is a
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Hi
So it says that she was right because her employer said himself that she was supposed to get her month's wages on the Monday (she disappeared on Sunday)? Does it make sense? I'm not sure I see a correlation bewteen her being right and him saying that she was supposed to get wages on the Monday?
So the woman who is reporting this says that he called the police and then she hers
So it says that she was right because her employer said himself that she was supposed to get her month's wages on the Monday (she disappeared on Sunday)? Does it make sense? I'm not sure I see a correlation bewteen her being right and him saying that she was supposed to get wages on the Monday?
So the woman who is reporting this says that he called the police and then she hers
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NewguestIt sounds like the woman who was reporting this to another woman didn't like he called the police, but I'm not sure?The style here is a form of dialogue, but there's no indication of who is saying what. The reader is left to assume.
Perhaps prior context would help us to form a sense of who is saying what.
I haven't read the part about o
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I've just noticed that this whole part was said by the narrator. Neither of the women said that.
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Yes, this is true. But he's telling the story by occasionally "speaking" the parts of the characters, if I'm not mistaken.
A good storyteller can even do this orally, without any "He said/she said."
A good storyteller can even do this orally, without any "He said/she said."
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NewguestSo it says that she was right because her employer said himself that she was supposed to get her month's wages on the Monday (she disappeared on Sunday)? Does it make sense? I'm not sure I see a correlation bewteen her being right and him saying that she was supposed to get wages on the Monday?They owed each other money.
We have to assume that her
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Hmm, that's strange because she had her own home in the same village where she worked for that guy. So it would be strange if she had to pay him a rent.
Some time later it says:
But there was the house, full of furniture and all the
little gadgets poor Wesley had made. And clothes! Mr
Tharkell said that when he drove her to the station, she ’d
had just a small suitcas
Some time later it says:
But there was the house, full of furniture and all the
little gadgets poor Wesley had made. And clothes! Mr
Tharkell said that when he drove her to the station, she ’d
had just a small suitcas
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Without reading the book, I have to assume that "her own home in the same village" was in fact the rental in question, and that she abandoned her furniture and "poor Wesley's" gadgets.
Apparently her employer was also her landlord. I guess she worked for him in his house, but she "lived" in the rental.
Apparently her employer was also her landlord. I guess she worked for him in his house, but she "lived" in the rental.
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I read the book from the very beginning and there was no mention that she and her husband rented a house. But maybe you're right.
I thought that the phrase "a month's notice" refers to the job not a home. You have to tell your employer that you're going to leave at least one month ahead. That's what I thought.
I thought that the phrase "a month's notice" refers to the job not a home. You have to tell your employer that you're going to leave at least one month ahead. That's what I thought.
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"She owed him a month's notice" could indeed refer to her employment, but such arrangements don't usually involve a monetary penalty. That is, you're not usually obligated to hand your boss a month's wages because you leave without due notice. "Owed" in that case would not refer to money.
However, in this case it does.
Of course this is an old book. These days, landlor
However, in this case it does.
Of course this is an old book. These days, landlor
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