Half-spoken words

[jiho]

Hi all,

"Half-spoken words" is an expression I have read in several instances, i.e. songs, books, etc., but I am not sure about its precise meaning:
-Words you don't really mean?
-Words you are afraid to say?
-Words you say in a very low voice?
-Incomplete words you say?

Thanks a lot, guys!

[jiho]

Any ideas?

[Rover_KE]

Any ideas?

No. I've never heard it in my (fairly long) life.

Can you give us a complete sentence?

[jiho]

No. I've never heard it in my (fairly long) life.

Can you give us a complete sentence?

Sure, my friend. Here you are.

-"Box of Rain" lyrics by The Greatful Dead:
"Your tongue is twisted
with words half spoken
and thoughts unclear."

-Qais Akbar Omar's "A Fort of Nine Towers":
"First, there is the fumf of the launch, then the silence as everyone waits, and then the explosion as a house is destroyed or a school collapses. Then slowly the conversation resumes, sometimes with a half-spoken prayer."

Thank You so much for your kind attention and help.

[Rover_KE]

Oh...right.

I've given up trying to make sense of abstruse song lyrics.

[jiho]

Oh...right.

I've given up trying to make sense of abstruse song lyrics.

What about the text from the novel? Do you find it abstruse, too?
You can read the full page of the book (n. 48) on Amazon's preview:
A Fort of Nine Towers: An Afghan Family Story: Qais Akbar Omar: 9780374157647: Amazon.com: Books

Thanks again

[jiho]

Here I post some more quotes from a couple of books:

Love's Return: Psychoanalytic Essays on Childhood, Teaching, and Learning, edited by Gail M. Boldt,and Paula M. Salvio:
"There is a half-spoken history associated with this film—a history that speaks of…"
"Poets gathered to present works-in-progress, to work out lines, to listen for the half-spoken image, and to engage in wordplay."

The Bloody Hoax, by Sholem Aleichem:
"And, in her mind, she walked into the theater with them, sat in the seat next to them, followed their every step, listened to their half-spoken words…"
"…with hints and half-spoken words he had given her to understand that she meant everything to him and he was prepared to reveal to her his innermost secret!"

You can easily goople those and read the full contexts.


I have also lived a fairly long life, but I don't think it's too late to learn something new, something I have never heard of, or read of.
And I have not given up trying to make sense of English, no matter how abstruse it might seem at first sight.
That is why I come here to ask a teacher whenever I find some English words that puzzle me.

Thank you anyway.

[Tdol]

Sure, my friend. Here you are.

-"Box of Rain" lyrics by The Greatful Dead:
"Your tongue is twisted
with words half spoken
and thoughts unclear."

-Qais Akbar Omar's "A Fort of Nine Towers":
"First, there is the fumf of the launch, then the silence as everyone waits, and then the explosion as a house is destroyed or a school collapses. Then slowly the conversation resumes, sometimes with a half-spoken prayer."

Thank You so much for your kind attention and help.

In the first, I'd interpret it as mangled and in the second as whispered.

[jiho]

In the first, I'd interpret it as mangled and in the second as whispered.

Thank you, Tdol.