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SuperESL Posted 14 years ago
Grammar
Whiff / Intention
"In this early speech Stalin telegraphed a whiff of an intention that the wartime policy be/should be/was to be carried over to peacetime."
(1) I am sure the sentence can be phrased differently; my concern here is whether 'a whiff of,' in the sense of 'a slight sign of,' can be used in this way. Is this phrasing really unacceptable? Would changing it to "a whiff of a suggestion" make it more acceptable?
(2) Assuming that the first part of the sentence is fine, say if I modify it so that its phrasing is more conventional:
"In this early speech Stalin telegraphed his intention that the wartime policy......."
should it be followed by:
...be carried over to peacetime."
...should be carried over to peacetime."
...was to be carried over to peacetime." ?
Thank you.
(1) I am sure the sentence can be phrased differently; my concern here is whether 'a whiff of,' in the sense of 'a slight sign of,' can be used in this way. Is this phrasing really unacceptable? Would changing it to "a whiff of a suggestion" make it more acceptable?
(2) Assuming that the first part of the sentence is fine, say if I modify it so that its phrasing is more conventional:
"In this early speech Stalin telegraphed his intention that the wartime policy......."
should it be followed by:
...be carried over to peacetime."
...should be carried over to peacetime."
...was to be carried over to peacetime." ?
Thank you.
Top answer
SuperESL my concern here is whether 'a whiff of,' in the sense of 'a slight sign of,' can be used in this way. Is this phrasing really unacceptable? No.
- SuperESL my concern here is whether 'a whiff of,' in the sense of 'a slight sign of,' can be used in this way.
- Is this phrasing really unacceptable?
- No.
- SuperESL Would changing it to "a whiff of a suggestion" make it more acceptable?
- Yes, I believe so.
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11 Answers
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SuperESLmy concern here is whether 'a whiff of,' in the sense of 'a slight sign of,' can be used in this way. Is this phrasing really unacceptable?No.
SuperESLWould changing it to "a whiff of a suggestion" make it more acceptable?Yes, I believe so. Slightly more acceptable, perhaps.
SuperESL ... fo
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Hi,
telegraph - signal
a whiff - a slight smell
If you say 'telegraphed a whiff', you are mixing metaphors.
Clive
telegraph - signal
a whiff - a slight smell
If you say 'telegraphed a whiff', you are mixing metaphors.
Clive
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I am hoping that "a whiff of" can be understood as "a slight sign of" or "a hint of," so that "telegraphing a whiff of sth" could be read as "conveying a hint of sth" (e.g. conveying a hint of a suggestion that blah blah blah). No?
Thank you.
Thank you.
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Hi,
Yes, it conveys that meaning. But I find the wording distracts me a little from your argument.
Clive
Yes, it conveys that meaning. But I find the wording distracts me a little from your argument.
Clive
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I am hoping that "a whiff of" can be understood as "a slight sign of" or "a hint of," so that "telegraphing a whiff of sth" could be read as "conveying a hint of sth" (e.g. conveying a hint of a suggestion that blah blah blah). No?
No. Mixed metaphors are very bad unless they are intentional. They usually inject silliness.
To speak of a whiff o
No. Mixed metaphors are very bad unless they are intentional. They usually inject silliness.
To speak of a whiff o
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My understanding of the problem is this:
'telegraph' in itself already conveys the sense of 'giving a hint of (often without intending to).' 'A whiff of' also means 'a hint of.' So to say 'telegraph a whiff of sth' is like saying 'giving a hint of a hint of sth,' which is very awkward.
I will rephrase the sentence.
Thank you.
'telegraph' in itself already conveys the sense of 'giving a hint of (often without intending to).' 'A whiff of' also means 'a hint of.' So to say 'telegraph a whiff of sth' is like saying 'giving a hint of a hint of sth,' which is very awkward.
I will rephrase the sentence.
Thank you.
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SuperESL'telegraph' in itself already conveys the sense of 'giving a hint of (often without intending to).' 'A whiff of' also means 'a hint of.' So to say 'telegraph a whiff of sth' is like saying 'giving a hint of a hint of sth,' which is very awkward.No. I saw that, too, but I didn't bother to mention it because although that is indeed a problem that in its
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I guess my trouble with the mixed metaphor critique is that my understanding is that when you say you are using a metaphor, that means you are using the word or phrase in question figuratively (i.e. used in a way that is different from the usual meaning, in order to create a particular mental picture). But in the cases of 'telegraph' and 'a whiff of,' their formal definitions actually include "to
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OK, I see what you're saying. But many dictionary definitions are figurative in nature. You can't smell an intention with your nose, and I doubt Stalin knew Morse code. It's just that the figurative meanings are so apt and have been used so often that the word has come to mean that in the right context. It is still considered a mixed metaphor, and the literal meanings still clash comically.
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