spare your co-workers

[Sepmre]

Hi,

I would like to know what "spare" means here?

If your nose crinkles while you try to enjoy your dish, you should leave it at home and spare your co-workers.

Thanks

 

[Sepmre]

Funny answer, does it really mean so?

 

[Skrej]

What it's trying to say is that if your food has such a strong odor that it bothers you, avoid making your coworkers have to smell it as well.

However, as Piscean has pointed out, it's awkwardly worded.

I sometimes will use the expression 'curl your nose hairs' to describe powerful smells, especially spicy smells.

 

[Skrej]

That was my reading of it, and although I didn't elaborate well, was what I meant by 'avoid making your coworkers smell it'.

Enjoy the dish at home instead of bringing it to work where it may offend others.

I don't find the 'while you enjoy it' problematic. There are any number of foods that taste much better than they smell.

Off the top of my head I can think of several cheeses I've enjoyed which still stank to high heaven - Limburger, Stilton, and other semi-soft cheeses. I love kimchi and sauerkraut despite their smells. Stinky tofu will curl your nosehairs while you enjoy it. Natto, doenjang, and lutefisk are smelly also. Almost anything fermented has some odor to it.

I've yet to try durian, but it's supposed to smell terrible despite a delicious taste.

 

[SoothingDave]

Maybe it is the co-workers who should leave their noses at home.

 

[Rover_KE]

Where did you encounter this sentence, Sepmre?

 

[Sepmre]

I've encounter it in a pdf file comprised of many sentences in English at different themes. So I don't know exactly where it originally came from.