0
Kapa Posted 11 years ago
Vocabulary

Meaning

Hello friends, 

Would you please confirm me if I am right on the meaning of the following bold part?

The pleasant, remotely masculine smell of him hit her when he walked into the hall, but shaving cream, tobacco, new car, and dusty books faded at the memory of the conversation in the kitchen. Suddenly she put her arms around his waist and nuzzled her head on his chest.
“What was that for?” said Henry delightedly.
“General Principles, who fought in the Peninsular War. Let’s get going.”

My interpretation: "nothing, it was for who fought in the Peninsular War."

Thank you.
  

Top answer

I'm a native English speaker in the US, and this is incomprehensible without further context. With the mention of a car, this is obviously in a contemporary setting - apparently in the US - so bringing up the Napoleonic Era Peninsular conflict doesn't seem to fit. The Peninsular War is almost never mentioned today in the US.

— Anonymous

  • I'm a native English speaker in the US, and this is incomprehensible without further context.
  • With the mention of a car, this is obviously in a contemporary setting - apparently in the US - so bringing up the Napoleonic Era Peninsular conflict doesn't seem to fit.
  • The Peninsular War is almost never mentioned today in the US.
  • Further context is needed.
  • Who are these people?
Free · every Monday

Get the Weekly English Kit 📬

New words, one handy idiom, and a 2-minute quiz — delivered to your inbox to keep your streak alive.

12 Answers
0
I'm a native English speaker in the US, and this is incomprehensible without further context. With the mention of a car, this is obviously in a contemporary setting - apparently in the US - so bringing up the Napoleonic Era Peninsular conflict doesn't seem to fit. The Peninsular War is almost never mentioned today in the US. Further context is needed. Who are these people? What novel is this
0
0
The reason she gives for doing that seems to be "general principles", which is slightly cryptic, but I suppose may refer to her principles about what is the right thing to do. The next part seems to be just a silly pun, imagining that a military officer named "General Principles" fought in the Peninsular War. I don't know whether the Peninsular War has any particular significance within the story,
0
0
It's a little joke.

"General principles" has two meanings
1) according to a general rule
2) A man named Principles who was a general.
0
0
Thank you for your time. I extracted it from "Go Set Watchman", Harper Lee's novel. I think the second part is allusion. we don't read about this "War" in the story again. As our friend said, "General Principles" can be a person in that war! But I'm really confused with Harper Lee's using of pun.
0
0
KapaBut I'm really confused with Harper Lee's using of pun.
I don't know the story, but possibly you are trying to find more meaning than exists. It could be nothing more than a little throwaway joke in the dialogue.
0
0
With the information that this is from a Harper Lee novel, set in the South, "The Peninsular War" refers to the Peninsular Campaign of the American Civil War (the Civil War is alive and well, and constantly referred to, in the South today). So, "General Principles, who fought in the Peninsular War." is apparently a play on words. There was no general named "Principles" in the Civil War, so thi
0
0
GPY KapaBut I'm really confused with Harper Lee's using of pun.I don't know the story, but possibly you are trying to find more meaning than exists. It could be nothing more than a little throwaway joke in the dialogue.
Thank you for your time. Yes I'm looking for more information
0
0
AnonymousWith the information that this is from a Harper Lee novel, set in the South, "The Peninsular War" refers to the Peninsular Campaign of the American Civil War (the Civil War is alive and well, and constantly referred to, in the South today). So, "General Principles, who fought in the Peninsular War." is apparently a play on words. There was no general named "Princ
0
0
Anonymous "The Peninsular War" refers to the Peninsular Campaign of the American Civil War
Nope. It is the name of Napoleon's war in Spain (the Iberian Peninsula), 1806-1814. It was a horrific and ****** war, depicted by Francisco de Goya's very famous print series: Los Desastres de la Guerra.
0
0
Other soldiers who fought beside General Principles include
Major Problems, Corporal Punishment, and Private Property.

Clive
0

Related Questions