got her off?

[Eway]

Dear Teachers,

I read these from The Decline and Fall of Practically Everybody by Will Cuppy:

1. Aspasia was arrested for irreligion and immorality, but Pericles got her off with one of his speeches.

Does "get her off" here mean "set her free (by delivering a speech)"?


2. A mysterious infant born in Lucrezia's bedroom about a year after her husband had been sent on his way. Personally, I am not at all certain that this natural child was Lucrezia's, or that －－ I mean I'm surprised that I mention it. Besides, it was such a little one.


Does this "one" in the end of the sentence refers to the infant? Is the writer saying that the infant is so little that he's not worthy of being discussed?

[svartnik]

Dear Teachers,

I read these from The Decline and Fall of Practically Everybody by Will Cuppy:

1. Aspasia was arrested for irreligion and immorality, but Pericles got her off with one of his speeches.

Does "get her off" here mean "set her free (by delivering a speech)"?

Pericles was lenient toward Aspasia and gave her a mere tongue-lashing.


2. A mysterious infant born in Lucrezia's bedroom about a year after her husband had been sent on his way. Personally, I am not at all certain that this natural child was Lucrezia's, or that －－ I mean I'm surprised that I mention it. Besides, it was such a little one.

one = infant
The tail end of the text is not very clear.


Does this "one" in the end of the sentence refers to the infant? Is the writer saying that the infant is so little that he's not worthy of being discussed?

[BobK]

It might be a joke, rather like the traditional wish to newly-weds: 'May all your troubles be little ones.'

b

[RonBee]

Dear Teachers,

I read these from The Decline and Fall of Practically Everybody by Will Cuppy:

1. Aspasia was arrested for irreligion and immorality, but Pericles got her off with one of his speeches.

Does "get her off" here mean "set her free (by delivering a speech)"?

I think it means that Pericles softened the hearts of her accusers. (In modern lingo "got me off" or "got him off" refers to a successful defense of a defendant in a criminal case. The person who gets somebody off is the defense attorney.)

[vil]

I’m not a teacher.

Hi Eway,

There are my interpretations of the matter in question which are very close to the Ron Bee’s arguments:

get off = escape from punishment; also, obtain a lesser penalty or release for someone.
For example, He apologized so profusely that he was sure to get off, or
The attorney got her client off with a slap on the wrist.
This sense is sometimes amplified to get off easy or get off lightly. Where there is no punishment at all, the expression is sometimes put as get off scot-free, originally meaning "be free from paying a fine or tax (scot),"

get off: Information from Answers.com

Aspasia (5th century B.C.), the most famous woman of the ancient world.
She lived as wife with Pericles (See) but he could not marry her under Athenian law as she was a foreigner, or a Greek from Asia Minor (Ionia). She was one of the most beautiful and the most accomplished of the women who came to Athens and were known as Hetairai (which mean "pals" or companions, not courtesan as is often said. Aspasia was one of the most respected figures in the brilliant circle round Pericles in the Golden Age. She was put on trial for irreligious and, through Pericles defended her and got her acquitted, she shared the skepticism of the group.

Regards,

V.

[thod00]

1. Aspasia was arrested for irreligion and immorality, but Pericles got her off with one of his speeches.

You are correct, she was set free because of what Pericles said to the judge. If someone is accused, they must go to court (appear before the court). They are said to be 'on trial'. The opposite of 'on' is 'off'.

[Charlie Bernstein]

Dear Teachers,

I read these from The Decline and Fall of Practically Everybody by Will Cuppy:

1. Aspasia was arrested for irreligion and immorality, but Pericles got her off with one of his speeches.

Does "get her off" here mean "set her free (by delivering a speech)"?

Almost. It means he got the charges dropped.


2. A mysterious infant born in Lucrezia's bedroom about a year after her husband had been sent on his way. Personally, I am not at all certain that this natural child was Lucrezia's, or that －－ I mean I'm surprised that I mention it. Besides, it was such a little one.


Does this "one" in the end of the sentence refers to the infant? Is the writer saying that the infant is so little that he's not worthy of being discussed?

Yes, the one is the infant. The last sentence is a joke. It's a variation of this:

Friend of newlywed woman: "Are you planning to have children?"

Newlywed woman: "Perhaps. A very small one."

[I'm a copy editor and have tutored university writing.]