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Thread: schlepped off to

  1. #1
    ostap77 is offline Key Member
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    Default schlepped off to

    "When two of the central characters graduate from their gated corporate community's high school, the one with a talent for bioengineering is admitted to the prestigious,wealthy Watson-Crick Institute; the one with a talent for words is schlapped off to the dilapidated Martha Graham Academy."

    What does exactly "schlepped off to" mean here? Would it be close in meaning to "palmed off" bacause he got in his parent's hear and they just wanted him to go? Or it's such a nice academy and hard to get in?
    Last edited by ostap77; 03-Sep-2011 at 18:26.

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    SoothingDave is offline Key Member
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    Default Re: schlepped off to

    To schlep is to carry something, usually heavy and awkward. It doesn't seem to be the right word for this sentence.
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    Ouisch's Avatar
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    Default Re: schlepped off to

    "Schlep" is a Yiddish word that literally means to haul or to drag an item or items from one location to another and the entire episode is a miserable experience. For example, "The service was so bad at the airport - there were no carts available and I had to schlep my bags all the way to the bus depot." Or "The hotel claimed that it had lost my reservation (even though I'd made it a month ago!) and they put me on a broken-down shuttle bus that schlepped me off to some place that should have been condemned years ago."

    So in this case the student is being "palmed off" or directed to a "second-best" school. The people in charge are assuring the student that the Martha Graham Acadmey is just as good as Watson-Crick, yet he has to haul all of his belongings himself onto a rickety un-air-conditioned school bus that takes him on a miserable journey to Martha Graham. When he finally gets there he immediately notices that appearance-wise, anyway, the school is in no way comparable to Watson-Crick.
    ~Mav~ and ostap77 like this.

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    ostap77 is offline Key Member
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    Default Re: schlepped off to

    Quote Originally Posted by Ouisch View Post
    "Schlep" is a Yiddish word that literally means to haul or to drag an item or items from one location to another and the entire episode is a miserable experience. For example, "The service was so bad at the airport - there were no carts available and I had to schlep my bags all the way to the bus depot." Or "The hotel claimed that it had lost my reservation (even though I'd made it a month ago!) and they put me on a broken-down shuttle bus that schlepped me off to some place that should have been condemned years ago."

    So in this case the student is being "palmed off" or directed to a "second-best" school. The people in charge are assuring the student that the Martha Graham Acadmey is just as good as Watson-Crick, yet he has to haul all of his belongings himself onto a rickety un-air-conditioned school bus that takes him on a miserable journey to Martha Graham. When he finally gets there he immediately notices that appearance-wise, anyway, the school is in no way comparable to Watson-Crick.
    There are a lot of routs in the Caribbean that are operated by small local airplane companies. Sometimes they fly small old planes. Coud I say that I was schlepped over to a small island by Bla Bla Caribbean?
    Last edited by ostap77; 05-Sep-2011 at 07:40.

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    emsr2d2 is offline VIP Member
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    Default Re: schlepped off to

    Quote Originally Posted by ostap77 View Post
    There are a lot of routs in the Caribbean that are operated by small local airplane companys. Sometimes they fly small old planes. Coud I say that I was schlepped over to a small island by Bla Bla Caribbean?
    I don't think that you can use it in the passive voice. I'm pretty sure that it's just "to schlep", not "to be shlepped".
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    ostap77 is offline Key Member
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    Default Re: schlepped off to

    Quote Originally Posted by emsr2d2 View Post
    I don't think that you can use it in the passive voice. I'm pretty sure that it's just "to schlep", not "to be shlepped".
    Guess it's still "schlep". If you refer to post # 1, it's already in the passive voice?

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    ostap77 is offline Key Member
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    Default Re: schlepped off to

    Quote Originally Posted by ostap77 View Post
    Guess it's still "schlep". If you refer to post # 1, it's already in the passive voice?
    I've been anxious to hear a word of a native speaker.

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    Allen165 is offline Key Member
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    Default Re: schlepped off to

    NOT A TEACHER.

    In German, "schleppen" means to carry, drag, or pull something (see dict.leo.org - Results for "schleppen"). Just thought I'd mention that.

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    5jj
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    Default Re: schlepped off to

    Quote Originally Posted by ostap77 View Post
    I've been anxious to hear a word of a native speaker.
    Home Country: UK
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    Seem pretty native to me.

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    ostap77 is offline Key Member
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    Default Re: schlepped off to

    Quote Originally Posted by fivejedjon View Post
    Home Country: UK
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    Seem pretty native to me.
    Can I be schlepped over by an Caribbean airplane company to an island?

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