[Idiom] "run a mile"...

[Mehrgan]

Hi there,

Could this idiom be used to talk about Sth in the past? As in 'She ran a mile when I asked her for some money!'. Thanks.

 

[5jj]

It could be.

I think I'd say, 'She almost ran a mile when I asked her for some money!' but that's just a personal view,

 

[Mehrgan]

It could be.

I think I'd say, 'She almost ran a mile when I asked her for some money!' but that's just a personal view,

I'd really appreciate it if you could kindly tell me why "almost" makes it sound better. This way I may get the point what these mean to a native speaker. And, thanks for the reply.

 

[BobK]

If you say 'She ran a mile' you risk giving the impression that she did run some distance (even allowing for the possibility that the distance was exaggerated). To put it another way, there is room for two sorts of exaggeration - action (she ran) and distance.

(At least, that's the way I hear it; I think I too would add the 'almost'.)

Another way of saying 'she was very surprised' - rather less polite - is 'she nearly had kittens'.

b