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Anonymous Posted 15 years ago
Vocabulary
To bait
Hello,
Could you tell me please if this sentence is correct?
The man must have baited him into getting angry and saying nasty things.
As the meaning of this verb is to deliberately try to make somebody angry by making cruel or insulting remarks isn't it a mistake to repeat this part in the sentence; 'into getting angry and saying nasty things'? Is it possible just to say; 'He must have baited him'?
Could you tell me please if this sentence is correct?
The man must have baited him into getting angry and saying nasty things.
As the meaning of this verb is to deliberately try to make somebody angry by making cruel or insulting remarks isn't it a mistake to repeat this part in the sentence; 'into getting angry and saying nasty things'? Is it possible just to say; 'He must have baited him'?
Top answer
You need all of the explanation. 'Bait' has a broader meaning: 8. to attract, tempt, or captivate.
- You need all of the explanation.
- 'Bait' has a broader meaning: 8.
- to attract, tempt, or captivate.
- to worry, torment, or persecute, especially with malicious remarks: a nasty habit of baiting defenseless subordinates.
- to tease: They love to bait him about his gaudy ties.
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6 Answers
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You need all of the explanation. 'Bait' has a broader meaning:
8. to entice by deception or trickery so as to entrap or destroy
9.to attract, tempt, or captivate.
11.to worry, torment, or persecute, especially with malicious remarks: a nasty habit of baiting defenseless subordinates.
12.to tease: They love to bait him about his gaudy ties.
8. to entice by deception or trickery so as to entrap or destroy
9.to attract, tempt, or captivate.
11.to worry, torment, or persecute, especially with malicious remarks: a nasty habit of baiting defenseless subordinates.
12.to tease: They love to bait him about his gaudy ties.
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Hi MM,
Just a follow-up question, would "provoke" be more common in the above sentence?
Just a follow-up question, would "provoke" be more common in the above sentence?
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My understanding of the word is that you could bait someone to do anything really. Usually it would be used when you're talking about a negative thing, but I don't think the exact thing is specified as part of the definition of the word. So I think it's correct to specify exactly what they were being baited to do. So in your case, they were being baited into getting angry and saying nasty things.
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Just a follow-up question, would "provoke" be more common in the above sentence?-- More common? Perhaps nowadays, yes.
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Hello,
I thought that it can be used only in this way; 'to deliberately try to make somebody angry by making cruel or insulting remarks', but when you said that "you could bait someone to do anything really" I realised my mistake. I thought that this verb can be used only in one sense that is given in the dictionary.
Thank you
I thought that it can be used only in this way; 'to deliberately try to make somebody angry by making cruel or insulting remarks', but when you said that "you could bait someone to do anything really" I realised my mistake. I thought that this verb can be used only in one sense that is given in the dictionary.
Thank you
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