mash to the path, straddle like a baby

[Bushwhacker]

In this paragraph,

The bodyguard 's idea of protection would be to mash him to the path and straddle him like a baby while swinging his great axe...

I found a problem in mash (it doesn't seem to fit to the idea of protecting anybody) and straddle. I can not have an image of a baby straddling.

Might mash be a kind of irony meaning "hand grabbing hardly the protected"?

Thank You for your assistance

 

[bhaisahab]

In this paragraph,

The bodyguard 's idea of protection would be to mash him to the path and straddle him like a baby while swinging his great axe...

I found a problem in mash (it doesn't seem to fit to the idea of protecting anybody) and straddle. I can not have an image of a baby straddling.

Might mash be a kind of irony meaning "hand grabbing hardly the protected"?

Thank You for your assistance

I'm sorry but this doesn't make any sense at all. I can't imagine what "straddle like a baby" means. This book is very badly written. Who is the author?

 

[rlfwood]

I think what he's saying is that, in case of danger, the bodyguard would be inclined to throw him roughly down onto the path, and then to stand astride of him in a protective stance and wield his axe to defend against the danger.

I agree that if this is something that you're reading in order to improve your English, you might want to choose something else.

 

[vil]

Vox's idea of protection would be to mash Tamlin to the path and straddle him like a baby while swinging his great axe two-handed at all comers.

mash = crush = to put down

straddle = to stand or sit with a leg on each side of; bestride: straddle a horse


V.

 

[BobK]

In this paragraph,

The bodyguard 's idea of protection would be to mash him to the path and straddle him like a baby while swinging his great axe...

I found a problem in mash (it doesn't seem to fit to the idea of protecting anybody) and straddle. I can not have an image of a baby straddling.

Might mash be a kind of irony meaning "hand grabbing hardly the protected"?

Thank You for your assistance

I suspect there may be a typo or two. Smash would fit better than mash. 'Straddle him' makes sense in this context, but why 'like a baby'. 'Swaddle' would fit with 'like a baby'; and it's the sort of obscure word that Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software might replace with a more common verb such as 'straddle'. But 'swaddle' (= wrap tightly) doesn't make a lot of sense. (It seems to me that it makes no sense, but who knows what strange context there may be.) :-?

 

[Bushwhacker]

I suspect there may be a typo or two. Smash would fit better than mash. 'Straddle him' makes sense in this context, but why 'like a baby'. 'Swaddle' would fit with 'like a baby'; and it's the sort of obscure word that Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software might replace with a more common verb such as 'straddle'. But 'swaddle' (= wrap tightly) doesn't make a lot of sense. (It seems to me that it makes no sense, but who knows what strange context there may be.) :-?

It's a novel from Forgotten Realms. Really bad written. If you know the kind of literature it is, I'd like to ask you about something I can't understand. If this kind of books are thought for youngsters between 16 and 25 year old, why are they so bad written, with a lot of slang and sentences that for me are quite cryptic, with structures that are no usual English. Are they really wanting to sell them? Or are they only for initiates?

 

[BobK]

Oh dear: Forgotten Realms - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia . This MMORPG stuff (Massively multiplayer online role-playing game - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia ) is designed to make money as quickly and cheaply as possible. It's not great literature. ;-)

b

 

[Bushwhacker]

Oh dear: Forgotten Realms - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia . This MMORPG stuff (Massively multiplayer online role-playing game - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia ) is designed to make money as quickly and cheaply as possible. It's not great literature. ;-)

b

Not great literature, of course. I'm suffering it. But my question is, taking into account the great success you inform, is this the language and style youngsters prefer and use?

 

[bhaisahab]

Not great literature, of course. I'm suffering it. But my question is, taking into account the great success you inform, is this the language and style youngsters prefer and use?

No, I wouldn't say it's what they prefer and use, it's what is foisted apon them by dodgy publishers and bad writers. There is, as BobK said, a lot of money to be made cheaply and, I would add, for minimum intellectual effort.