[General] He would give her a piece of bone.

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vil

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Dear teachers,

Would you be kind enough to give me a leg up with the interpretation of the expression in bold in the following sentence?

She had a right to his arm, though it was without feeling. He would give her, who was so simple, so impulsive, only twenty-four, without friends in England, who had left Italy for his sake, a piece of bone.

have a bone to pick = to have grounds for a quarrel

bone to pick = grounds for a complaint or dispute.

give someone a bone = don’t give grounds for complaint or dispute

He would give her a piece of bone. = He shouldn’t offend her. = He shouldn’t hurt her.

Thanks for your efforts.

Regards,

V.
 

euncu

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***neither a teacher nor a native-speaker***

I always considered it as a small cut (a share) or a small amount of payoff. An example in these senses may be something like this;

If we didn't give that dog a bone, he couldn't keep his big mouth shut.

It's similar to this quote of you;

give someone a bone = don’t give grounds for complaint or dispute
 
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vil

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I had let my fancy roam.

Regards.

V.
 

euncu

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I had let my fancy roam.

I have no clue about what this means. :-?

Do you say you let your imagination free or something :?:
 
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vil

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Exactly.

V.
 

daemon99

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I had let my fancy roam.

Even I think that expression has more to it than meets the not-so-dirty eye. :-D
 

vil

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