Her lips tasted of wild strawberries.

Michael Swan's PRACTICAL ENGLISH USAGE, entry 591:

Her lips tasted of wild strawberries.

I can't understand what this sentence means. Did the speaker kiss her and her lips left the speaker the taste of wild strawberries? Or she tasted some wild strawberries and they still left her the taste?

Thank you in advance.

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Originally Posted by joham

Michael Swan's PRACTICAL ENGLISH USAGE, entry 591:

Her lips tasted of wild strawberries.

I can't understand what this sentence means. Did the speaker kill her and her lips left the speaker the taste of wild strawberries? Or she tasted some wild strawberries and [they] the taste was still left on her lips.?

Thank you in advance.

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The speaker of the sentence probably may well have never tasted wild strawberries in his life. The sentence simply reflects that the kiss was a magical experience and her lips tasted as sweet and were as delectable as any succulent fruit.

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh, fond memories. 8-)

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Originally Posted by riverkid

The speaker of the sentence probably may well have never tasted wild strawberries in his life. The sentence simply reflects that the kiss was a magical experience and her lips tasted as sweet and were as delectable as any succulent fruit.

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh, fond memories. 8-)

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Good golly...there is a poet hiding in our Swan?:shock:
Yes, RK is mostly right...clearly sidetracked though;-) It is possible she still had the remnants of wild strawberries on her lips, however. It is very unlikely this is a Silence of the Lambs reference!

Fiona:-D

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Originally Posted by fiona bramble

Good golly...there is a poet hiding in our Swan?:shock:
Yes, RK is mostly right...clearly sidetracked though;-) It is possible she still had the remnants of wild strawberries on her lips, however. It is very unlikely this is a Silence of the Lambs reference!

Fiona:-D

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I'm really sorry I still don't understand. But thank you all the same.

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Originally Posted by fiona bramble

Good golly...there is a poet hiding in our Swan?:shock:
Yes, RK is mostly right...clearly sidetracked though;-) It is possible she still had the remnants of wild strawberries on her lips, however. It is very unlikely this is a Silence of the Lambs reference!

Fiona:-D

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Originally Posted by joham

I'm really sorry I still don't understand. But thank you all the same.

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Let's start at the end, Joham. Fiona's reference to "Silence of the Lambs" is that she believes, and I concur, that there is no cannabalistic idea here.

As Fiona noted it's possible she had the actual taste of wild strawberries on her lips.

The sceond and more probable meaning is that, in the kiss, the speaker thought her lips were as sweet as if they had been wild strawberries.

So we have the actual taste of someone eating wild strawberries or the figurative meaning that makes the speaker think of her lips as luscious, delightful, juicy fruit.

To be sure, I think wild strawberries are probably less succulant than cultivated varieties, although it would be wrong to over-analyze this.

But I also think there's an additional connotation here. Not only was the kiss a blissful experience, it was probably also an exciting one, and probably gave the protagonist a thrill. Perhaps she is a very passionate woman, for example.

To me, the image of wild strawberries means not just sweet, but also untamed and perhaps, just maybe, a little bit dangerous. It makes me think of wild horses.