Forum newsfeeds 
|  | | Notices | You are welcome to answer questions posted in the Ask a Teacher forum as long as your suggestions, help, and advice reflect a good understanding of the English language. If you are not a teacher, you will need to state that clearly at the top of your post. Please note, all posts are moderated by our in-house language experts, so make sure your suggestions, help, and advice house the kind of information an international language teacher would offer. If not, and your posts do not contribute to the topic in a positive way, they will be subject to deletion. | 
05-Dec-2007, 03:25
| | Member | | Join Date: Mar 2006 Country: Russia
Posts: 258
Current Location: Komsomolsk-on-Amur First Language: English Thanks: 27
Thanked 2 Times in 2 Posts
| |  gimme a hint, plz
What means 'as' and 'pathetic' in following:
'Obsess about Daniel Cleaver as pathetic to have a crush on boss in manner of Miss Moneypenny or simillar.'
What means 'Miss Moneypenny'? |
05-Dec-2007, 04:24
| | Key Member | | Join Date: Nov 2007 Country: UK
Posts: 3,094
Current Location: UK First Language: English Thanks: 3
Thanked 1,096 Times in 981 Posts
| | Re: gimme a hint, plz
Miss Moneypenny is a much-loved character in the James Bond novels and movies. Do you know these films? James Bond is a spy (I will keep the vocabulary simple) and a very handsome man who has many attractive girlfriends. Miss Moneypenny works at the secret headquarters of the spy organization. It is never said in words, but it is obvious to the audience that she is in love with James, who is her boss (sort of). So: 'have a crush on your boss in the manner of Miss Moneypenny'. So, it means someone who has a secret crush on her boss.
Are these actually two different 'sentences', that is,
Obsess about Daniel Cleaver as pathetic
and
to have a crush on boss in manner of Miss Moneypenny or simillar.
Can you provide more of the sentence with "as" and 'pathetic' in it?
Last edited by David L.; 05-Dec-2007 at 04:30.
|
05-Dec-2007, 14:26
| | Senior Member | | Join Date: Jun 2007 Country: USA
Posts: 557
Current Location: Mobile, AL First Language: English Thanks: 0
Thanked 7 Times in 7 Posts
| | Re: gimme a hint, plz
I think here Bridget is saying that it's pathetic for her to have a crush on her boss, Daniel Cleaver, in the same way that Miss Moneypenny has a crush on James Bond. Poor Miss Moneypenny's love goes on unrequited for year after year, while Mr. Bond beds dozens (hundreds?) of other women. Bridget is trying to scold herself.
[not a teacher] |
06-Dec-2007, 00:51
| | Key Member | | Join Date: Nov 2007 Country: UK
Posts: 3,094
Current Location: UK First Language: English Thanks: 3
Thanked 1,096 Times in 981 Posts
| | Re: gimme a hint, plz
I grossly underestimated the breadth of your vocabulary!
" beds dozens of other women' -Well, my word...'beds' indeed!! You certainly have a grasp of colloquial English suitable for mixed company! |
06-Dec-2007, 03:23
| | Senior Member | | Join Date: Jun 2007 Country: USA
Posts: 557
Current Location: Mobile, AL First Language: English Thanks: 0
Thanked 7 Times in 7 Posts
| | Re: gimme a hint, plz
Sorry for the confusion, David - I'm a native speaker. Is "beds" really all that colloquial? I didn't mean to be difficult. I was just trying to help Pinkgreat, who for some reason seems often to be reading a book I've recently read: At Bertram's Hotel, Bridget Jones' Diary... Bridget is really a "tough nut to crack," what with all that telegraphic language and leaving out pronouns. |
07-Dec-2007, 19:42
| | Junior Member | | Join Date: Nov 2007 Country: Russia
Posts: 55
Current Location: Moscow, Russia First Language: Russian Thanks: 2
Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts
| | Re: gimme a hint, plz
David, it's diary style, so supposedly it states for
'as it is pathetic to....'
Greetings from Moscow, Pinkgreat!
Isn't the book great? | | Thread Tools | | | | Display Modes |  Linear Mode | 
Posting Rules
| You may post new threads You may not post replies You may not post attachments You may not edit your posts
HTML code is Off | | | All times are GMT. The time now is 16:50. | |
