slattern: an untidy slovenly woman

Question

1slatternan untidy slovenly woman[M-W's Col. Dic.]untidy is an adjective and slovenly can act as an adjective or adverb. An adverb can modify an adjective but not the other round. But an adjective cannot modify another adjective. So, you see the problem with the definition.

Avangi · Accepted Answer

When you say "a big green car," there are two adjectives modifying a noun. There's nothing wrong with that. That's what you have in your dictionary definition.

An example of an adverb modifying an adjective would be, "She was an extremely slovenly woman." OR "He drove a bright red car."

If you want to use slovenly as an adverb, make it modify a verb. He slovenly consumed the plate of beans.

- A.

Yankee · Answer

Hi Jackson

Both untidy and slovenly are adjectives in the definition, and both describe the noun 'woman'. If anyone wanted to quibble, they could argue that there should be a comma between the two adjectives, but that's all.

Jackson6612 · Answer

Thank you, Avangi. What does your signature mean and what language is that?

Best wishes,

Jackson

Jackson6612 · Answer

Hi Amy,

Thanks for the reply. And by the way, is that Don Quixote in your display picture? I see a man with a lance riding on a horse and, I believe, there is a tiger/leopard up on the tree.

Best regard,

Jackson

Yankee · Answer

Hi Jackson

The picture is from the book http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Connecticut_Yankee_in_King_Arthur%27s_Court, which is also where the quote in my signature comes from.
And since I come from Connecticut and my forum name is Yankee, somehow it all seemed to fit...

(I think that's a Connecticut Yankee (wearing a plaid jacket) in the tree, by the way.)

Avangi · Answer

Jackson6612 What does your signature mean and what language is that?

That's French. I stole it from the title page of a piano piece by Maurice Ravel. I really don't know what it means. My French is even worse than my piano. We have many scholars at EF who can probably translate it. I've always taken it as "The pleasure, delicious and always new, of a useless occupation." Henri de Regnier was a poet who died the year I was born.

Edit. I should say "useless occupation" in the sense of "non-utilitarian," not in the sense of "hopeless."

Jackson6612 · Answer

You are right, Amy. That's a man in the tree. I believe he looked like a leopard to me because of his plaid jacket.

Best wishes,

Jackson

Jackson6612 · Answer

Avangi
Jackson6612 What does your signature mean and what language is that?
That's French. I stole it from the title page of a piano piece by Maurice Ravel. I really don't know what it means. My French is even worse than my piano. We have many scholars at EF who can probably translate it. I've always taken it as "The pleasure, delicious and always new, of a useless occupation." Henri de Regnier was a poet who died the year I was born.

Edit. I should say "useless occupation" in the sense of "non-utilitarian," not in the sense of "hopeless."

I couldn't understand the underlined part. Perhaps it can be broken down into pieces as:

[Always new] the pleasure of a useless occupation.

[Always new] the delicious(deliciousness?) of a useless occupation.

And does non-utilitarian occupation mean the one which does not produce any result?

Avangi · Answer

I'd describe the construction as "parenthetical": The race car (fast and very noisy) came around the corner.

I'm guessing on "inutile" - probably "does not produce any useful result."

Jackson6612 · Answer

AvangiI'd describe the construction as "parenthetical": The race car (fast and very noisy) came around the corner.

I'm guessing on "inutile" - probably "does not produce any useful result."

Hi Avangi,

What does around the corner mean in the above context? Usually it means going to happen very soon, at hand. But I don't think these meanings set in the given context.

slattern: an untidy slovenly woman

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