What's" "have a ragamuffin " ?

Hi,

Can you add a bit more context? Who are 'they'? What is the 'affair'?

Clive

Thank for your reply, Clive, and here is the whole paragraphy:

"Oh, thunder, MacChesnay, what an awful bull you made of this thing!" began the officer. He attempted low tones, but his indignation caused certain of the men to learn the sense of his words. "What an awful mess you made! Good Lord, man, you stopped about a hundred feet this side of a very pretty success! If your men had gone

Hi,

This passage is in a vocabulary and style of English not used today. You probably know that it was written in 1895 (the classic book, 'The Red Badge Of Courage', by Stephen Crane).

A ragamuffin is a person dressed in ragged, dirty clothes, especially a child. The word is not much used today, especially in N. America.

I think the meaning here is that the ordinary sold

Thanks a lot. I got what it means by have a ragamuffin, it's kind like a metaphor, or it truly is a metaphor.

Anyway, now I understand more about the book than before.

No, no. It's not "have a ragamuffin". They "have an interest" in the affair. What kind of interest? a "ragamuffin interest," which means "the sort of interest a ragamuffin might have." "Ragamuffin" is not a word commony used now, and there is no expression "have a ragamuffin."

KhoffNo, no. It's not "have a ragamuffin". They "have an interest" in the affair. What kind of interest? a "ragamuffin interest," which means "the sort of interest a ragamuffin might have." "Ragamuffin" is not a word commony used now, and there is no expression "have a ragamuffin."

Thanks for the correction, well, I don't get the meaning of the sort of int

Hi,

As I said, think the meaning here is that the ordinary soldiers look like ragamuffins, and more importantly that they have a child-like trust and interest in what their officers are doing.

The word 'ragamuffin' is often associated with children. So, the sentence doesn't just mean people with dirty clothes.

Clive

Thanks, Clive and khoff.