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Spring Posted 20 years ago
Vocabulary

"made head, strayed back"

0Could you please help me understand what "made head and strayed back" mean in the following sentences?02br
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00"Against its strong, unfathomable stream, nothing 01b00made head02b00. No living creature, no flower, no leaf, no particle of animate or inanimate existence, ever 01b00strayed back02b00 from the undiscovered ocean."02br
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00Thank you very much0-
  

Top answer

0Hi Spring,02br 02br 01font 00"Against its strong, unfathomable stream, nothing 01b 00made head02b 00. "02font 02br 02br 00It means nothing moved forward, progressed, against the strong current. 'Head' is an odd, possibly archaic word here.

— Clive

  • 0Hi Spring,02br 02br 01font 00"Against its strong, unfathomable stream, nothing 01b 00made head02b 00.
  • "02font 02br 02br 00It means nothing moved forward, progressed, against the strong current.
  • 'Head' is an odd, possibly archaic word here.
  • The normal expression for this is 'make headway'.
  • It can be used literally, as here, and also figuratively, eg 01i 00Everyone at the meeting was against my idea.
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4 Answers
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0Hi Spring,02br
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01font00"Against its strong, unfathomable stream, nothing 01b00made head02b00. No living creature, no flower, no leaf, no particle of animate or inanimate existence, ever 01b00strayed back02b00 from the undiscovered ocean."02font02br
02br
00It means noth
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0I agree with you about the meaning of" made head," nothing moved forward, against the strong current, But it seems to me" strayed back " is " lost one's way", no living creature, no leaf, no particle of animate or inanimate existence. For example: you should down the stream to naviguate to the Indian ocean instead of against the strong current.to the Carribean sea.02br
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0Hi,02br
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00Yes, it's true that " strayed" means, very roughly, " lost one's way". But the phrase is "strayed 01i00back02i00". What do you thnk the word 'back' adds to the meaning?'02br
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00Best wishes, Clive0-
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0I agree with you "strayed back" means" wander back" but not from the ocean but wander to a strange island instead of a green peaceful island. May be, it's a coral island such as Diego Garcia or Maldives etc....Because there is no flower, no leaf, no creature, no particle of animate or inanimate......02br
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00Phuong Ninh..0-
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