Meaning of Wash Over

Status
Not open for further replies.

rajan

Member
Joined
Oct 14, 2005
Member Type
Native Language
Hindi
Home Country
India
Current Location
India
Could somebody please tell me the meaning of "wash over" in the following sentence:

The Sounds of evening television shows, in a dozen different languages, wash over the roads leading to the Islamic centre in the Paris.

I saw its meaning in on-line dictionary but could not link any one of those meanings with the above sentence.

Does it mean spread over ?

Regards

Rajan
 

MikeNewYork

VIP Member
Joined
Nov 13, 2002
Member Type
Academic
Native Language
American English
Home Country
United States
Current Location
United States
It means "flow over". I don't think the language in the sentence works very well. The television shows would have to be very loud.
 

Rover_KE

Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Jun 20, 2010
Member Type
Retired English Teacher
Native Language
British English
Home Country
England
Current Location
England
Where did you read that sentence, rajan?
 

rajan

Member
Joined
Oct 14, 2005
Member Type
Native Language
Hindi
Home Country
India
Current Location
India
Where did you read that sentence, rajan?

I read this sentence in a newspaper. The complete news goes like this :

The sounds of evening television shows, in a dozen different languages, wash over the roads leading to the Islamic centre in the Paris suburb of Courcouronnes. For the thousands of North African, South Asian and Turkish immigrants walled up in the town’s grey public-housing ghettos, their TV sets are windows into a world they abandoned in search of an earthly paradise that eluded them.

http://indianexpress.com/article/wo...l-mostefai-known-to-police-as-petty-criminal/
 

Tdol

No Longer With Us (RIP)
Staff member
Joined
Nov 13, 2002
Native Language
British English
Home Country
UK
Current Location
Japan
I think it is a poor piece of writing- the TVs would have to on very loud to do this. The person is trying to set the scene, but is doing it in a clumsy and inaccurate way.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top