Professional wallowers

Question

While watching Rabbit Hole- very good film indeed,very poignant- I encountered that sentence: yeah, you know...they are professional wallowers.
The context in which that expression was used was a support group for parents who have lost their children.
Given that a WALLOW is similar to mud as in' to get stuck in the mud'. do I have to associate it with that, meaning that a wallower is someone who is going through a very rough time and has been stuck in it ever since?

Thank you in advance for your help and please try to correct me if I wrote something wrong,( syntactically speaking) I really appreciate it

Avangi · Accepted Answer

I might take issue with the "get stuck" portion of your description.
You can be stuck in a situation in which you constantly have to struggle; and you may be stuck in a situation in which you are really stuck, in the sense that you are unable to move, or make any kind of forward progress.

I don't think you're actually trying to describe a hopeless situation. I think you're talking about folks who are overcoming great odds and making progress. They're not exactly shoveling fecal matter against the tide.

Of course there's another kind of wallowing. Some people are said to "wallow in their own misery."
The Doors lyric rejects this:
The time to hesitate is through
No time to wallow in the mire
Try now we can only lose
And our love become a funeral pyre

I hope I'm not missing this.

Zoey Woolf · Answer

Hi there!
Well,actually what I really meant was the first thing you mentioned, the first example you wrote: to be stuck in an unpleasant situation because you are coping with someone's death - as these two professional wallowers are doing in the film indeed, they are coping with their children's death and can't overcome it.
So I guess to wallow in your own misery is somewhat what I was looking for, that much resembles to the explanation I was looking for, wasn't I?

Avangi · Answer

Zoey WoolfGiven that a WALLOW is similar to mud as in' to get stuck in the mud'. do I have to associate it with that, meaning that a wallower is someone who is going through a very rough time and has been stuck in it ever since?

To me, this is a great example of a "dead metaphor."
Both the noun and the verb are described in my dictionaries as relating to the actions of animals in a [muddy] pool of water.
It's something that they do deliberately! They enjoy it! I really don't find a single reference suggesting that they are stuck in it. I may be missing something. I suppose you could metaphorically call the muddy pool a "cesspool," suggesting that it's very unpleasant. But I don't think that's necessarily required. Of course it's always possible to get stuck in mud, but again, I don't think that's required, or even a typical element in the image.

A "dead metaphor" is one which has been used so much that it actually becomes part of the meaning of the word.
So, no, you don't have to associate "wallowing" with getting stuck in the mud.
But these people seem to be stuck in the routine of wallowing. They can't seem to stop doing it!

I'm not familiar with Rabbit Hole, but I'd say that yes, they're wallowing in their own misery.

Zoey Woolf · Answer

Well for starters, thank you so much for your help: you reallly taught me something, a cesspool or a cesspit for instance which I've never heard of before.
I also wanted to tell you that I just found out an entry in my dictionary about WALLOW - Guess it just appeared out of the blue because I didn't notice it the other day,or maybe it's just another way to remind me that I should buy a pair of new glasses:)
Anyway, this entry says : Wallow in sth: disapproving - to remain in an unhappy emotional state without trying to get out of it, as if you are enjoying it or trying to get symphathy from other people....and that just what we have been discussing about it, that's it !!

Last question and I promise I'll be done with it: is there anything in my few lines here that makes you think that English is not my first language?
Thanks so much

Avangi · Answer

Your English seems quite natural to me.
To answer your question directly, I see only one suspicious phrase: "I just found out an entry in my dictionary."

We typically say, "I just found a [noun]," or "I just found out about a [noun]."

But this is a fine point. There are undoubtedly native speakers who have said this.

Of course we also say, "I just found out [that] you're Italian." (no "about")
(But, "I just found out about your being Italian.")

Best wishes, - A.

Zoey Woolf · Answer

Right right..does quite means pretty or rather?
Because I've never understood how much positive or negative it is, I know it may be both, that's what I've got.
Thank you muchisimo and Merry Christmas;)

Avangi · Answer

Thanks! And Merry Christmas to you!

In This is quite good, "quite" means "very."
It's an upper register usage, and sounds a bit British, if I may say so.

Did you enjoy the performance? (reply) Quite!

In the negative, it's tricky.
He didn't quite make it. This isn't quite up to snuff. The implied margin is very small.

Zoey Woolf · Answer

Got it, it just strenghtens what you are stating, is it an emphasizer?
Sort of...
Okay,thank you again, really appreciate your contribution;)

Professional wallowers

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