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MrPernickety Posted 17 years ago
Vocabulary
Meaning of "have the run of..."
Hi,
I can't make sense of this expression:
Stabbings, rapes and murders happened all the time since the inmates "had the run of the place".
My assumption is that it means "the inmates controlled the place", but I'm not a hundred percent positive about that.
Could you elaborate on its meaning if I'm wrong, please?
Also, is it a common phrase that people use throughout?
Thanks !
I can't make sense of this expression:
Stabbings, rapes and murders happened all the time since the inmates "had the run of the place".
My assumption is that it means "the inmates controlled the place", but I'm not a hundred percent positive about that.
Could you elaborate on its meaning if I'm wrong, please?
Also, is it a common phrase that people use throughout?
Thanks !
Top answer
The idiom is have the run of somewhere - to be allowed to go anywhere in a place. So I guess it here to mean "the inmates entered the place".
- The idiom is have the run of somewhere - to be allowed to go anywhere in a place.
- So I guess it here to mean "the inmates entered the place".
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2 Answers
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The idiom is have the run of somewhere - to be allowed to go anywhere in a place.
So I guess it here to mean "the inmates entered the place".
So I guess it here to mean "the inmates entered the place".
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Hi MrPernickety!
You've got the right general idea. Look at definition 9 for the noun "run" here:
American Heritage Dictionary
and definition 7d here:
Webster's Dictionary
If you "have the run of" a place, you h
You've got the right general idea. Look at definition 9 for the noun "run" here:
American Heritage Dictionary
and definition 7d here:
Webster's Dictionary
If you "have the run of" a place, you h
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