push past the knot

[Selviya87]

Hi, teachers :)

Would you help me understand the meaning of "push past the knot" in the context below, please? :)





My throat tightens, trying to suppress what I’m about to say. The first step toward relief is hard,but I push past the knot.



Source: The Marked Son.


Thanks a lot! :)

[bhaisahab]

Hi, teachers :)

Would you help me understand the meaning of "push past the knot" in the context below, please? :)





My throat tightens, trying to suppress what I’m about to say. The first step toward relief is hard,but I push past the knot.



Source: The Marked Son.


Thanks a lot! :)

The person is nervous about something they intend to say, this nervousness causes a "knot" of tension in his or her throat which s/he manages to overcome, "pushing past the knot".

[Ouisch]

In AmE, that choking, tense feeling of an actual hard object in your esophagus is described as "having a lump in your throat."


"I was so nervious I thought I might throw up at any moment, but I managed to push past the lump in my throat long enough to ask Daphne to marry me."

[Selviya87]

It's crystal clear now. Thanks, bhaisahab and Ouisch :)