What's the meaning of word "blur" and the usage of quotation mark? Tks.

Question

Talk about multi-tasking, on his commute, Joe manages the consulting business he has on the side and even keeps track of new messages on his BlackBerry. But he says he’s never tried anything this dangerous. This man is actually typing out an e-mail while driving in rush hour traffic.

Joe’s work day is a blur of business meetings, incoming phone calls, and hundreds of e-mails.

"I can check e-mails and respond to e-mails. I can have a conversation on the telephone. I can have a conversation via IM. And I can keep exactly probably half an ear on a conversation with a person," he says.

"In the room with you?" Stahl asks.

"Yeah, exactly," Joe says.

“If you are doing two or three things at he same time, are you really doing them all well?” Stahl asks.

"You know, this is not neurosurgery we're talking about here … but you can do a lot of that simultaneously." Joe says.

Joe may be able to pull that off, but many corporate executives say the volume of voicemail and e-mail they get has become unmanageable — eating up an average of three hours a day.

Combine that with a corporate culture that values endless meetings and "face time" with the boss, and you can see why so many employees toil into the night just to get their "real work" done.

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Question 1.

What's the meaning of the word "blur". I think it's the mixture of a lot of things. Am i right?

Question 2.

Why "face time" and "real work" use quotation marks here?

What's the exact meaning here of face time and real work.

Thanks for your help. Thanks!!!!!

Mister Micawber · Accepted Answer

Blur-- 'something vaguely or indistinctly perceived; especially : something moving or occurring too quickly to be clearly perceived.'

Face time is in quotation marks because the writer considers the phrase new and/or slang.

Real work is in quotation marks presumably because the writer thinks that the employees real work is not in fact done after hours, but is actually the blur of business meetings, incoming phone calls, and hundreds of e-mails; alternatively, it could be an error of style.

Marius Hancu · Answer

search with
blur dictionary
at Yahoo (or Google)
and you will find dictionary pages
such as this one:
http://www.infoplease.com/thesaurus/blur

BarbaraPA · Answer

I agree with Mr. M on "blur" - things are moving too quickly for anything to leave a distinct impression.

Face time means face-to-face (in-person) meetings with the boss - the boss wants to see you or you want to be seen by the boss.

I respectfully disagree with Mr. M on what the author thinks "real work" is - that's the stuff you're actually responsible for DOING. But it's hard to get it done when you're answering questions, taking calls, meeting with the boss, etc. For example, today my "real work" is to continue work on several brochures, revise this year's version of the company reference guide, finalize a presentation for our investors, and draft a letter to a regulatory agency in response to a proposed rule. But I have meetings scheduled from 10 to noon that will keep me from my desk, and will probably get a ton of e-mails that I need to respond to. Neither of those help me get my writing - the real work - done. The author suggests people like me work at night sometimes to get that type of work done because during business hours, we're too busy doing other things. Perhaps the quote were in place of italics, for emphasis, but not for irony.

Mister Micawber · Answer

I totally agree with your understanding of real real work, GG-- but the question is, why does the author put the phrase into quotation marks? You'll note that you yourself refrained from doing so-- 'Neither of those help me get my writing - the real work - done'-- because the phrase is being used in its normal sense.

Quotations are used

1-- when a word is considered new or unfamiliar to the reader, or when it is a coinage by the writer
2-- when it is being used in an unusual sense or one which is specific to the writer
3-- when it is being used qua the lexical entity itself rather than conveying its meaning.

To me, it seems that the author either mistook, or had one of these intentions. I don't of course know what the author really thinks; I was just trying to rationalize his decision to use quotation marks.

Frank.q · Answer

Mister MicawberI totally agree with your understanding of real real work, GG-- but the question is, why does the author put the phrase into quotation marks? You'll note that you yourself refrained from doing so-- 'Neither of those help me get my writing - the real work - done'-- because the phrase is being used in its normal sense.

Quotations are used

1-- when a word is considered new or unfamiliar to the reader, or when it is a coinage by the writer
2-- when it is being used in an unusual sense or one which is specific to the writer
3-- when it is being used qua the lexical entity itself rather than conveying its meaning.

To me, it seems that the author either mistook, or had one of these intentions. I don't of course know what the author really thinks; I was just trying to rationalize his decision to use quotation marks.

Oh, my ***.

You give so clear explanation.

You are an excellet teacher.

Thanks a loooooooooooooooooooot!

Frank.q · Answer

Grammar GeekI agree with Mr. M on "blur" - things are moving too quickly for anything to leave a distinct impression.

Face time means face-to-face (in-person) meetings with the boss - the boss wants to see you or you want to be seen by the boss.

I respectfully disagree with Mr. M on what the author thinks "real work" is - that's the stuff you're actually responsible for DOING. But it's hard to get it done when you're answering questions, taking calls, meeting with the boss, etc. For example, today my "real work" is to continue work on several brochures, revise this year's version of the company reference guide, finalize a presentation for our investors, and draft a letter to a regulatory agency in response to a proposed rule. But I have meetings scheduled from 10 to noon that will keep me from my desk, and will probably get a ton of e-mails that I need to respond to. Neither of those help me get my writing - the real work - done. The author suggests people like me work at night sometimes to get that type of work done because during business hours, we're too busy doing other things. Perhaps the quote were in place of italics, for emphasis, but not for irony.

Yes, I am with you.

I have this kind of feeling.

So I do not like the face time with boss except the necessary time.

Thanks with your remarks.

Frank.q · Answer

Marius Hancusearch with
blur dictionary
at Yahoo (or Google)
and you will find dictionary pages
such as this one:
http://www.infoplease.com/thesaurus/blur

Thanks for your help.

Yes, I have a lot of online English Dictionaries, more than 10, like the one you recommend.

But for a non-native, I can't find which one is suitable.

So I come here for natives to help me.

Anyway, thanks again.

Marius Hancu · Answer

blur of meetings: a series of meetings in a fast-paced sequence, so  fast that you start failing to make sense of them all; you're barely  able to distinguish one from another

Frank.q · Answer

Marius Hancublur of meetings: a series of meetings in a fast-paced sequence, so fast that you start failing to make sense of them all; you're barely able to distinguish one from another

Yeah, Thanks for your help.

What's the meaning of word "blur" and the usage of quotation mark? Tks.

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