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Thread: fixed

  1. #1
    Taka is offline Senior Member
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    Default fixed

    You need to break away from fixed attitudes and prejudices.

    Does 'fixed' above modify both 'attitudes' and 'prejudices'? Or 'attitudes' alone?

  2. #2
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    konungursvia is offline Key Member
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    Default Re: fixed

    When the two nouns (attitudes and prejudices) are similar, you can assume it modifies both. Usually, it does, in any case.

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    Taka is offline Senior Member
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    Threadstarter / Original Poster

    Default Re: fixed

    At first, I thought so, but later I thought 'attitudes' alone here didn't really make sense whereas 'prejudices' alone seemed to work, so I asked the question.

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    Default Re: fixed

    Because the term "prejudices" embodies the idea of strongly, and often stubbornly held preconceptions, in a sense they are already "fixed". And so, in this case "fixed" is most applicable to "attitudes" and is, perhaps, redundant for "prejudices". But it does serve to reinforce the point.
    However in: "Her cooking always involves the most exotic tastes and aromas", "exotic" would be read as qualifying both nouns, as konungursvia says.

    not a teacher

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    Default Re: fixed

    I don't think 'prejudice' always refers to strong, dogmatic preconceptions. As most of us know, it refers to judgments formed before the evidence is revealed in full. To me, the concept of time is central, the idea of stubbornness probably isn't. Just my thoughts. In legal English, it also refers to any harm, however minor.
    bhaisahab and 5jj like this.

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    JMurray is offline Senior Member
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    Default Re: fixed

    @konungursvia: Thanks, you're right. I didn't mean to suggest that my reading of "prejudices" in this example represents the only definition.
    I agree, of course, that the concept of time is central, but I feel that in general conversation the sense of stubbornness is often strongly implied and that's how I read it here.

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