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Newguest Posted 17 years ago
Vocabulary

Man of yesterday/benighted

Hi



Crime was a part of daily life for the ancient Egyptians too. When the

Old Kingdom collapsed at around 2180 BCE , the resultant chaos of crime and

violence was described by the sage Ipuwer:

The wrongdoer is everywhere. There is no man of yesterday. A

man takes his shield when he goes to plow. A man smites his

brother, hismother’s son.Men sit in the bushes until the benighted

traveller comes, in order to plunder his load.

--- I'm not sure what he means by "man of yesterday" and "benighted"?



  

Top answer

" He longs for the old days, when men were honest. I think "the man of yesterday" is the honest man. " I think it means a traveller who has failed to find lodging before nightfall, and is still on the road.

— Avangi

  • " He longs for the old days, when men were honest.
  • I think "the man of yesterday" is the honest man.
  • " I think it means a traveller who has failed to find lodging before nightfall, and is still on the road.
  • Darkness has made him easy prey for thieves.
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3 Answers
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The implication seems to be, "These days, everybody's a crook." He longs for the old days, when men were honest. I think "the man of yesterday" is the honest man.

I got fooled on "benighted." I read it as "beknighted."

I think it means a traveller who has failed to find lodging before nightfall, and is still on the road. Darkness has made him easy prey for thieves.
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The benighted traveler = we have to feel pity for the traveler because he doesn't know the bad luck that is waiting for him.
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Hi, anon.
Do you have any inkling about the etymology? - how such a word could have that meaning?

Best rgdz, - A.

Edit. Okay, I hadda lookidup. My dictionary says, "overtaken by darkness."
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