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Catttt Posted 9 years ago
Vocabulary

it'd be doing the work for him

Does "it'd be doing the work for him" mean "I would have sympathy for the automaton"?

Context:

A: Well, I'm glad you found it so amusing. No sympathy for the automaton, then?

B: Not for such a ridiculous hoax... if it'd been a real Ottoman invention, it'd be doing the work for him.

full context
  

Top answer

Do you know whether the speaker of that line is supposed to be Turkish?

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  • Do you know whether the speaker of that line is supposed to be Turkish?
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6 Answers
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Do you know whether the speaker of that line is supposed to be Turkish?
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Yes, he is Turkish. But, I do not think it should be relevant. anybody can have sympathy with something or someone else.
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red appleYes, he is Turkish. But, I do not think it should be relevant. anybody can have sympathy with something or someone else.
The automaton was (as I understand it) the figure of a Turk, and his nationatily may also be relevant to his attitude to Ottoman inventions. However, I can't see any hidden or indirect meaning in "if it'd been a real Ottoman inventi
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So as I understand "it'd be doing the work for him" means "I'd have sympathy for him", yes?
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red appleSo as I understand "it'd be doing the work for him" means "I'd have sympathy for him", yes?
No, I don't see how you could get that meaning out of it.

A far as I can see, "it'd be doing the work for him" means just what it says, i.e. that the automaton would be doing the work (presumably the work of playing the chess game) rather than a human
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Oh, yes. You're completely right! Thank you so much for the clarification Emotion: smile
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