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Anonymous Posted 14 years ago
Vocabulary
much to be modest about
There is a quote, rumored to be said by Churchill :
"A modest man, but then he has so much to be modest about"
As far as i could gather it's an insult.
I must be missing something... why is it an insult?
if you have a lot to be modest about, it means you have good qualities, isn't it?
Or is it just that the " so much" past is sarcastic?
Thanks
"A modest man, but then he has so much to be modest about"
As far as i could gather it's an insult.
I must be missing something... why is it an insult?
if you have a lot to be modest about, it means you have good qualities, isn't it?
Or is it just that the " so much" past is sarcastic?
Thanks
Top answer
Hi, 'Modest' has another meaning, ie ordinary, even dull. eg Tom does not have a lot of money, He earns only a modest salary. It is this meaning that Churchill is playing with.
- Hi, 'Modest' has another meaning, ie ordinary, even dull.
- eg Tom does not have a lot of money, He earns only a modest salary.
- It is this meaning that Churchill is playing with.
- He is suggesting that the person's activities and achievements are ordinary, even dull.
- It's a clever insult.
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7 Answers
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Hi,
'Modest' has another meaning, ie ordinary, even dull.
eg Tom does not have a lot of money, He earns only a modest salary.
It is this meaning that Churchill is playing with. He is suggesting that the person's activities and achievements
'Modest' has another meaning, ie ordinary, even dull.
eg Tom does not have a lot of money, He earns only a modest salary.
It is this meaning that Churchill is playing with. He is suggesting that the person's activities and achievements
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Interesting... I can't say i truly understand though.
i can substitute the prefix of the sentence- "A modest man", to that meaning you mentioned
but the second part is still a mystery: "but then he has so much to be modest about"
because you can't be moderate/ordinary about something (or can you?)
i guess that what's bothering me is that i have yet to find the contrast
i can substitute the prefix of the sentence- "A modest man", to that meaning you mentioned
but the second part is still a mystery: "but then he has so much to be modest about"
because you can't be moderate/ordinary about something (or can you?)
i guess that what's bothering me is that i have yet to find the contrast
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Hi,
"A modest man, but then he has so much to be modest about" -->
It's more like this.
A modest (normal meaning) man, but when you think about the matter more his life is ordinary and dull.
Humour and it are often hard t
"A modest man, but then he has so much to be modest about" -->
It's more like this.
A modest (normal meaning) man, but when you think about the matter more his life is ordinary and dull.
Humour and it are often hard t
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I see it differently from Clive.
The first part is the setup. Churchill meant "he is a modest man". If Churchill had stopped there, it would have been a compliment, because modesty was a laudable trait in Churchill's culture. A modest man does not brag.
Churchill went on, though, to say that he had a lot to be modest about. This means that he had nothing to brag about, th
The first part is the setup. Churchill meant "he is a modest man". If Churchill had stopped there, it would have been a compliment, because modesty was a laudable trait in Churchill's culture. A modest man does not brag.
Churchill went on, though, to say that he had a lot to be modest about. This means that he had nothing to brag about, th
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Hi enoon,
To me, that sounds the same as what I was struggling to explain.
To me, that sounds the same as what I was struggling to explain.
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The sentence has the same meaning according to both of your explanations but enoon's really got me thinking
a lot to be modest about <-> very few to brag about
nice equation!
a lot to be modest about <-> very few to brag about
nice equation!
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I read it as Churchill actually saying that Atlee has nothing to be proud of or brag about & thus a its dig on the very few, worthy qualities of the Man. Further, since this has to be read between the lines its a way of saying Atlee should be even more modest than he actually is (...he has so much to be modest about)
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