Coffee Break
Member
- Joined
- Feb 13, 2022
- Member Type
- Student or Learner
- Native Language
- Korean
- Home Country
- South Korea
- Current Location
- South Korea
I encountered the sentence "I was intentionally holding the stopwatch down", but am struggling to understand it. Could you please let me know what it means? Here is the excerpt:
When I arrived at the movie theater, I noticed that the line was shorter than usual. These were not Rohmer’s better films, and the thin audience tonight confirmed it. After purchasing a ticket, I decided to get a grande coffee next door and, without bothering to ask myself why, bought a candy bar. Then I bought her brand of cigarettes. Time, I wanted to think, had stopped last night at the movies, and like a sports trainer, I was intentionally holding the stopwatch down to mark the moment when the race ended, to mark the high point of the week, of the year.
- André Aciman, Eight White Nights, Fifth Night
This is a novel published in the United States of America in 2010. This novel is narrated by the nameless male protagonist. The protagonist meets Clara at a Christmas party in Manhattan. Now, the protagonist is at the movie theatre.
In this part, I wonder what the underlined expression means.
I vaguely guess that it might mean that he held the stopwatch in his hand, towards the downward direction, not towards the upward direction, but I am not sure what "hold the stopwatch down" might mean...
When I arrived at the movie theater, I noticed that the line was shorter than usual. These were not Rohmer’s better films, and the thin audience tonight confirmed it. After purchasing a ticket, I decided to get a grande coffee next door and, without bothering to ask myself why, bought a candy bar. Then I bought her brand of cigarettes. Time, I wanted to think, had stopped last night at the movies, and like a sports trainer, I was intentionally holding the stopwatch down to mark the moment when the race ended, to mark the high point of the week, of the year.
- André Aciman, Eight White Nights, Fifth Night
This is a novel published in the United States of America in 2010. This novel is narrated by the nameless male protagonist. The protagonist meets Clara at a Christmas party in Manhattan. Now, the protagonist is at the movie theatre.
In this part, I wonder what the underlined expression means.
I vaguely guess that it might mean that he held the stopwatch in his hand, towards the downward direction, not towards the upward direction, but I am not sure what "hold the stopwatch down" might mean...
