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Jobb Posted 22 years ago
Grammar
Is it a vivid description in English?
(The thread is for the purpose of learning English, no offense intended here)
"Imagine a luscious piece of meat landing in dog's jaws!"
(It is what some dissolute idlers taunted the fact that a pretty girl was married to a short and grotesque man who had no the flare of making-money.)
In original Chinese novel, it literally meant:
What a beautiful flower! But it is inserted into cow's dung!
I didn't understand why "What a beautiful flower! But it is inserted into cow's dung!" is not vivid.
"Imagine a luscious piece of meat landing in dog's jaws!"
(It is what some dissolute idlers taunted the fact that a pretty girl was married to a short and grotesque man who had no the flare of making-money.)
In original Chinese novel, it literally meant:
What a beautiful flower! But it is inserted into cow's dung!
I didn't understand why "What a beautiful flower! But it is inserted into cow's dung!" is not vivid.
Top answer
"What a beautiful flower! " is certainly vivid. Who told you it wasn't?
- "What a beautiful flower!
- " is certainly vivid.
- Who told you it wasn't?
- "inserted" is the wrong word, however.
- "What a beautiful flower!
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3 Answers
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"What a beautiful flower! But it is inserted into cow's dung!" is certainly vivid. Who told you it wasn't?
"inserted" is the wrong word, however.
"What a beautiful flower! Too bad it's been thrown on a dung heap!" would have been my choice.
The meat-in-the-dog's-jaws metaphor doesn't work in most cultures where English is spoken. The reason is that "meat" used to
"inserted" is the wrong word, however.
"What a beautiful flower! Too bad it's been thrown on a dung heap!" would have been my choice.
The meat-in-the-dog's-jaws metaphor doesn't work in most cultures where English is spoken. The reason is that "meat" used to
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Hello Jobb and CJ
'Inserted' could perhaps mean 'rooted', i.e. 'growing in dung'.
MrP
'Inserted' could perhaps mean 'rooted', i.e. 'growing in dung'.
MrP
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I agree that it is a vivid description, but someone could have thought that it wasn't descriptive enough. For example, you could have put: What a beautiful, pink rose!
I was just giving you an example, but you get the point.
Hope this helped.
I was just giving you an example, but you get the point.
Hope this helped.
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