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SweetFreedom Posted 12 years ago
Grammar

That I had religion forced down my throat?

Does "that I had religion forced down my throat" mean "that I allowed (a clergyman) to forcefully
stuff me with religion (like food)"?

Context:

The boy lay prone in the grass, his chin resting on his hands. He
suddenly found himself overwhelmed by a heightened awareness of
the tangled stems and roots, a forest in microcosm, a transfigured
world of ants and beetles and even - though he wouldn't have
known the details at the time - of soil bacteria by the billions,
silently and invisibly shoring up the economy of the micro-world.
Suddenly the micro-forest of the turf seemed to swell and become
one with the universe, and with the rapt mind of the boy contem-
plating it. He interpreted the experience in religious terms and it led
him eventually to the priesthood. He was ordained an Anglican
priest and became a chaplain at my school, a teacher of whom I was
fond. It is thanks to decent liberal clergymen like him that nobody
could ever claim that I had religion forced down my throat. *
In another time and place, that boy could have been me under
the stars, dazzled by Orion, Cassiopeia and Ursa Major, tearful
with the unheard music of the Milky Way, heady with the night
  

Top answer

"force something down someone's throat" is a set expression, used figuratively, meaning to force someone to accept something. It is unwelcome, so "allow" doesn't seem the right word.

  • "force something down someone's throat" is a set expression, used figuratively, meaning to force someone to accept something.
  • It is unwelcome, so "allow" doesn't seem the right word.
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1 Answers
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"force something down someone's throat" is a set expression, used figuratively, meaning to force someone to accept something. It is unwelcome, so "allow" doesn't seem the right word.

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