Unskin the peach and withdraw the stone.

No. Sorry. That won't do at all.

Peel the peach and remove the stone.

CJ

Thanks CJ;

I (as a non-native speaker) also found it weird when read it in a famous novel The English Patient by Micheal Ondaatje. Please see and shed some light on this.

She unskins the plum with her teeth, withdraws the stone and passes the flesh of the fruit into his mouth.

Tom

It's not unusual to find new and clever ways of saying things in literary works. People don't want to read in a novel the same ordinary language that they themselves use every day.

One more question:

passes the flesh of the fruit into his mouth.

What is the better word in everyday English?

passes or puts?

Thanks again,

Tom

I would vote for a mouth-to-mouth pass or a hand-to-mouth put.

Mr. Tomthe better word in everyday English

puts

CJ

"She unskins the plum with her teeth, withdraws the stone and passes the flesh of the fruit into his mouth."

Disgusting.

In some cultures, mothers pre-chew food for their babies and similarly pass it from mouth to mouth. I've seen it.

A very weak adult patient might profit by the same treatment from a "loving" care-giver. You don't have to watch if it bothers you.

Was the author using an unusual choice of words to imply a subtle sexual context? Another possibility is that the author is attempting to draw attention to the precise acts by making the sentence slightly awkward to give it emphasis.