[General] at grips with something

[vil]

Dear teachers,


Would you tell me whether I am right with my interpretation of the expression in bold in the following sentence?


The British farmer … is now at grips with world wide competition.
at grips with something = be faced with something

Thank you for your efforts.


Regards,


V

 

[Neillythere]

Hi Vil

I would suggest the nuance is more towards:

at grips with something = sufficiently confident to handle

Best regards
NT

 

[Tdol]

They're fighting the competition, but I am not as confident as Neilleyhtere that they're going to win. ;-)

 

[Neillythere]

Hi Tdol

I'm inclined to agree with you, but:

Bearing in mind the original writer's particular terminology " ..... is now at grips with world wide competition ... ", it appears that the writer believed that the British farmer already had that confidence.

Had he said "... is getting to grips with ...." then that may fall more closely under your interpretation of his original meaning.

Oh! The nuances of the English language!

PS That's what makes it so facinating!

Best regards
NT