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Newguest Posted 15 years ago
Vocabulary
Made one of those inarticulate sounds ...
Hi
Miss Benson told Miss Mayfield that if she took a bit more care about herself she would look nicer. Then Miss Mayfield:
... made one of those inarticulate sounds,
expressive of attention, in which people indulge when,
their attention is elsewhere.
Miss Benson chose to take it as
an invitation to proceed with her lecture.
Does it mean she made some sound pretending that she was listening to her but in fact she was focused on something else. And that was the sound which people make when they pretend that they listen to what is said to them?
I take it to mean that "inarticulate" means "indistinct"?
Miss Benson told Miss Mayfield that if she took a bit more care about herself she would look nicer. Then Miss Mayfield:
... made one of those inarticulate sounds,
expressive of attention, in which people indulge when,
their attention is elsewhere.
Miss Benson chose to take it as
an invitation to proceed with her lecture.
Does it mean she made some sound pretending that she was listening to her but in fact she was focused on something else. And that was the sound which people make when they pretend that they listen to what is said to them?
I take it to mean that "inarticulate" means "indistinct"?
Top answer
Newguest I take it to mean that "inarticulate" means "indistinct"? That's correct. It has not been "clearly shaped" in any way, although it may be clearly audible.
- Newguest I take it to mean that "inarticulate" means "indistinct"?
- That's correct.
- It has not been "clearly shaped" in any way, although it may be clearly audible.
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4 Answers
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NewguestI take it to mean that "inarticulate" means "indistinct"?That's correct. It has not been "clearly shaped" in any way, although it may be clearly audible.
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Hi
But did I understand it correctly that she made some sound pretending that she was listening to her but in fact she was focused on something else. And that was the sound which people make when they pretend that they listen to what is said to them?
But did I understand it correctly that she made some sound pretending that she was listening to her but in fact she was focused on something else. And that was the sound which people make when they pretend that they listen to what is said to them?
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Yes, I'd say you've paraphrased it correctly. Sorry I neglected to respond to that part.
"Unintelligible" is another term often used for an inarticulate utterance, by the way. They're both open to interpretation.
"Unintelligible" is another term often used for an inarticulate utterance, by the way. They're both open to interpretation.
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