Meaning of "sprawling history"
From this article:
For her *sprawling history* "Face: A Visual Odyssey," designer and author Jessica Helfand assembled a dazzling cabinet of human curiosities
The only definition I found which appear to fit as an adjective for history is (from https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sprawl):
: to spread or develop irregularly or without restraint (a sprawling narrative)
But what does it mean "to develop a narrative without restraints"? Could it maybe describe a history which extensively covers a subject? In greater detail/depth?
In comparison with another sentence from here:
A typical spring afternoon in Brooklyn's *sprawling Prospect Park* brings a crush of joggers, picnickers and frisbee-throwers.
Why was sprawling used here? All definitions I found for sprawl suggest untidiness, irregularity, ugliness, lack of planning. Does the writer simply meant Prospect Park looks "vast", "to spread in all directions"?
Thanks!
Top answer
My first feeling is that the word 'sprawling' suggests a lack of structure and organization.
- My first feeling is that the word 'sprawling' suggests a lack of structure and organization.
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My first feeling is that the word 'sprawling' suggests a lack of structure and organization.
0Skilled writers sometimes use words in ways that are different from their ordinary meanings, so you have to look at close relatives and synonyms. The likely synonym will be brought to mind almost automatically by native speakers, and they would admire the writer, thinking "what clever, visual use of language! She certainly has a way with words."
Ricardo GermanoFor
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