Ask for paraphrasing a sentence

[ida2]

Hi,

In the following paragraph, Could you please paraphrase the sentence "Even when their conversational acrobatics fail and the subject arises anyway, they stay within a very narrow subject of warning signs"?

Most of the time, people try to avoid talking about what happened. Even when their conversational acrobatics fail and the subject arises anyway, they stay within a very narrow subject of warning signs… specifically, warning signs that I somehow missed."

Source: A Mother's Confession, by Kelly Rimmer

 

[emsr2d2]

Why do you need to paraphrase it? Why do you think we should do it?

 

[ida2]

Hi emsr2d2,
I am translating that mentioned book, and I need some native to paraphrase that sentence so that I can understand its concept better.

 

[emsr2d2]

We like learners to make their own attempt first. Which parts specifically are you having trouble understanding?

 

[ida2]

I understood this part "Even when their conversational acrobatics fail and the subject arises anyway," but I need paraphrasing yet in order to find better equivalents.

However, this part is fairly vague to me: "they stay within a very narrow subject of warning signs"; especially, I can not understand that the word "subject" refers to what exactly.

 

[teechar]

Are you sure it's not "within the very narrow subject" instead?

 

[ida2]

Are you sure it's not "within the very narrow subject" instead?

Yes, sorry, you are right. That's "the".

 

[teechar]

Most of the time, people try to avoid talking about what happened. Even when their conversational acrobatics fail and the subject arises anyway, they stay within the very narrow subject of warning signs … specifically, warning signs that I somehow missed."

Even when their evasive tactics fail, and the topic comes up in the conversation, they only talk about warning signs, especially signs that I did not spot before.