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Spacewater Posted 17 years ago
Grammar
Very confusing word here
The doctor went back upstairs to complete his toilet after getting an emergency call from the next door neighbor.
I am assuming that the doctor went upstairs to put on his clothes... but the "Surgery" term of definition is throwing me off which is "the cleansing of a part after childbirth or a wound after an operation" and yes we are talking about a doctor.
I am assuming that the doctor went upstairs to put on his clothes... but the "Surgery" term of definition is throwing me off which is "the cleansing of a part after childbirth or a wound after an operation" and yes we are talking about a doctor.
Top answer
Spacewater: Is this a very old text you have quoted? If so, you need to tell us because the language has changed a lot. The word in the text confusing you may be "toilet".
- Spacewater: Is this a very old text you have quoted?
- If so, you need to tell us because the language has changed a lot.
- The word in the text confusing you may be "toilet".
- An old definition of the word is to do things like washing up, arrranging you hair, and (in private) making yourself presentable to society.
- This is what the doctor is doing.
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3 Answers
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Spacewater:
Is this a very old text you have quoted? If so, you need to tell us because the language has changed a lot.
The word in the text confusing you may be "toilet". An old definition of the word is to do things like washing up, arrranging you hair, and (in private) making yourself presentable to society. This is what the doctor is doing. He was interrupted by the call, a
Is this a very old text you have quoted? If so, you need to tell us because the language has changed a lot.
The word in the text confusing you may be "toilet". An old definition of the word is to do things like washing up, arrranging you hair, and (in private) making yourself presentable to society. This is what the doctor is doing. He was interrupted by the call, a
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In the absence of further context, sense 2 at http://www.askoxford.com/concise_oed/toilet -- "the process of washing oneself, dressing, and attending to one's appearance -- seems most likely to me. Though familiar, this meaning is rather old-fashioned
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Haha I find that very funny because the exerpt is from an English Learning Novel called "Learn English through Classic Literature American Tales of Horror and the Supernatural". It is fairly new, printed on 2006. Archaic usuage of words in a TOEFL grade English learning novel makes me ponder what the publisher were thinking about the targeted readers for the novel.
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