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Dark Fury Posted 9 years ago
Vocabulary
Whatever lame excuse for a life they can manage
An archaeologist about a kind of humanoid creatures.
"Gotta give 'em credit, though. Scavenging, adapting, rebuilding, no matter how wretched the conditions, hacking together whatever lame excuse for a life they can manage. Sound familiar?"
Doesn't the last part sound a bit weird? How can I define the "excuse" here (http://www.dictionary.com/browse/excuse)?
"11. an inferior or inadequate specimen of something specified: That coward is barely an excuse for a man. Her latest effort is a poor excuse for a novel."
"12. a pretext or subterfuge: He uses his poor health as an excuse for evading all responsibility."
"Gotta give 'em credit, though. Scavenging, adapting, rebuilding, no matter how wretched the conditions, hacking together whatever lame excuse for a life they can manage. Sound familiar?"
Doesn't the last part sound a bit weird? How can I define the "excuse" here (http://www.dictionary.com/browse/excuse)?
"11. an inferior or inadequate specimen of something specified: That coward is barely an excuse for a man. Her latest effort is a poor excuse for a novel."
"12. a pretext or subterfuge: He uses his poor health as an excuse for evading all responsibility."
Top answer
Dark Fury whatever lame excuse for a life they can manage. "Doesn't the last part sound a bit weird? com/browse/excuse )?
- Dark Fury whatever lame excuse for a life they can manage.
- "Doesn't the last part sound a bit weird?
- com/browse/excuse )?
- 11.
- an inferior or inadequate specimen of something specified: That coward is barely an excuse for a man.
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6 Answers
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Dark Fury whatever lame excuse for a life they can manage. Sound familiar?"Doesn't the last part sound a bit weird? How can I define the "excuse" here (http://www.dictionary.com/browse/excuse )?11. an inferior or inadequate specimen of something specified: That coward is
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Thank you, Mister Micawber! Since it's correct, then can you tell me which noun the relative clause "they can manage" describes?
"whatever lame excuse" or "a life"?
"whatever lame excuse" or "a life"?
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I believe it is 'life' because I believe that 'lame excuse for a life' qualifies as a semi-fixed nominal expression.
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Then I probably don't know something important about "life" or "manage." Please enlighten me. What does "to manage a life" mean?
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life = living, biological lifetime, the usual definition.
manage = to bring about or succeed in accomplishing, sometimes despite difficulty or hardship:
She managed to see the governor. How does she manage it on such a small income?
manage = to bring about or succeed in accomplishing, sometimes despite difficulty or hardship:
She managed to see the governor. How does she manage it on such a small income?
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