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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."
  

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"?
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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?
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Thank you, Mister Micawber. I think I got it.

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