what's the meaning?

[Ksunya]

Hey Can you help me to understand the meaning of the following sentence?

He's a charming boy; a good match and a fine catch, as they put it.

What does "as they put it" mean?

And the second question, is that grammatically right?

Richard was one of those people, who didn't know how and didn't want to face up to real things.

Thanks in advance,
Kseniya

[MikeNewYork]

Hey Can you help me to understand the meaning of the following sentence?

He's a charming boy; a good match and a fine catch, as they put it.

What does "as they put it" mean?

And the second question, is that grammatically right?

Richard was one of those people, who didn't know how and didn't want to face up to real things.

Thanks in advance,
Kseniya

"As they put it" means "according to what they said".

Yes, the second is grammatical, albeit a little stilted. The two verbs share the infinitive phrase that follows.

[Ksunya]

And how can I change this sentence and make it sound less stilted?

[MikeNewYork]

And how can I change this sentence and make it sound less stilted?

Richard was one of those people, who didn't know how and didn't want to face up to real things.

Richard was one of those people who lacked both the aptitude and the desire to face reality.

[BobK]

"As they put it" means "according to what they said"...

And, in this instance, I think it's drawing attention to their actual words. I get the impression that the speaker doesn't want to be thought of as being so mercenary as to describe a potential marriage partner as 'a fine catch'.

b

[MikeNewYork]

And, in this instance, I think it's drawing attention to their actual words. I get the impression that the speaker doesn't want to be thought of as being so mercenary as to describe a potential marriage partner as 'a fine catch'.

b

That's a good pont.