A few problem sentences

[Anonymous]

Dear everybody,
Here are a few questions about quite simple daily English conversations I encountered.
Hope somebody can help me...

1. About drinking alcohol, what does "at a time" mean as in "You can't drink at a time like this"?
Does it mean "You can't drink so quickly like this" or "You can't drink at this time of a day"?

2. About fire accidents, what does "We were burned out of house and home" mean?
Does it mean the house was burned down or people were running out of the house because of the fire?

3. About playing golf, what's a "long hole"?

4. About playing tennis or other ball games, what does it mean by "I lost a love game"?

5. About sales or selling things, what does "hawk amulets (or charms) mean as in "I got conned by a manipulative salesman hawking amulets"?

Hope I've provided enough contex.
And I'd be really appreciated if my questions got answers!!

 

[shane]

Can I try?

1. 'You can't drink at a time like this.'

- This means 'at this time of day'. Basically, this person is saying that this particular time of day is not when people normally drink.

2. 'We were burned out of house and home.'

- This means that the fire left us with nothing. We lost our house (physical property) and our home (the dwelling we have made ourselves over the years).

3. About playing golf, what's a "long hole"?

- A long hole is when the distance between the start point (the 'tee') and the end point (the hole) is very long. This is usually a distance of 400-500 yards.

4. About playing tennis or other ball games, what does it mean by "I lost a love game"?

- This is a new one on me. However, I do know that 'love' means 'zero points' in tennis, so maybe the person means that they lost a game without scoring any points?

5. About sales or selling things, what does "hawk amulets (or charms) mean as in "I got conned by a manipulative salesman hawking amulets"?

- I may be wrong, but I think 'hawking' means 'selling on the street, usually illegally'. I first heard this word when I began watching Hong Kong movies, as they always depict 'street hawkers' (usually selling fish balls ).


Hope that helps you!

 

[Casiopea]

I liked Shane's answers so much that I wanted to try it myself.

1. "You can't drink at a time like this."

You need to be serious, on your toes, sober.
'at a time like this' means, a serious occasion, one in which clear thinking and sobriety is required.

2. "We were burned out of house and home."

We lost everything we own.
When a family's house is destroyed by fire they lose everything, their house (its structure) and their home (a place to live).

3. "a long hole"

I don't know. Shane's the golfer

4. "I lost a love game."

It means, 'no score, nil'.

5. "I got conned by a manipulative salesman hawking amulets."

In the days of old, street sellers or hawkers used to sell good luck objects (charms, amulets) to ward off evil. The word 'hawking' comes from the verb 'hawk' which means to sell goods at a lower price than their true worth.

 

[Tdol]

Can I try?

1. 'You can't drink at a time like this.'

- This means 'at this time of day'. Basically, this person is saying that this particular time of day is not when people normally drink.

I would agree with Cas that this one refers more to a specific accasion,like half an hour before a job interview, rather than at a general time like ten in the morning. ;-)

 

[shane]

Having read it again, I would agree too.

 

[Tdol]

Time for a drink, then. ;-)

 

[shane]

Time for a drink, then. ;-)

Funny you should say that, I've just had a nice cup of Sainsbury's tea.

 

[Tdol]

In China? ;-)

 

[shane]

Yep, get them (teabags) sent from home.

Recently had a shipment of Mars bars, too. :lol:

 

[Tdol]

No tea in China? ;-)

 

[Casiopea]

Yep, get them (teabags) sent from home.

Recently had a shipment of Mars bars, too. :lol:

I could send you some Mars bars from Japan, if you'd like.

 

[Eway]

Wow~~thank you all for your kind replies from China, Japan and so on.
Just to make sure about Sentence 5.
So "I got conned by a manipulative salesman hawking amulets" simply means "I got conned by a salesman who sells amulets"??
And...is Sainsbur's tea different from Tesco's tea or Safeway's tea?

 

[RonBee]

Wow~~thank you all for your kind replies from China, Japan and so on.
Just to make sure about Sentence 5.
So "I got conned by a manipulative salesman hawking amulets" simply means "I got conned by a salesman who sells amulets"??

Yes, although I probably wouldn't put it that way. I'd probably say, "I got conned by a guy selling amulets."

And...is Sainsbur's tea different from Tesco's tea or Safeway's tea?

Probably. (Shane would have a better idea of that than I.)

Welcome to our friendly forum!

:hi:

 

[shane]

No tea in China? ;-)

Plenty of it, but believe me, there's nothing more annoying than swallowing a mouthful of big petals or berries when all you want is the tea. :wink:

I could send you some Mars bars from Japan, if you'd like.

You can get Mars bars in Japan?? :shock: All I can get here are Snickers.

And...is Sainsbury's tea different from Tesco's tea or Safeway's tea?

In my experience, not much different at all.

 

[Eway]

No tea in China? ;-)

Plenty of it, but believe me, there's nothing more annoying than swallowing a mouthful of big petals or berries when all you want is the tea. :wink:

Ah, isn't there any tea bags at all in China?
Or you'd like to swim across the strait.
We do have them in bags or powder over here.

And, just one more problem sentence--
In "This is Mr. X, who'll be serving as the new department head as of today",
what's that "as of"?
Does it mean Mr. X is serving only for toady or Mr. X starts to be serving from today?
Thanks!!

 

[shane]

Ah, aren't there any tea bags at all in China?

There are, but they are bags of Liptons tea, and as everyone knows, Liptons is horrible.

In "This is Mr. X, who'll be serving as the new department head as of today",
what's that "as of"?
Does it mean Mr. X is serving only for toady or Mr. X starts to be serving from today?
Thanks!!

'As of today' = 'From today onwards'.

 

[Tdol]

Liptons tea- arrrrrrgh. It's ghastly. ;-)

 

[wenxian]

shane
Good good study ,day day up!
I like it!

 

[Tdol]

I like it too- we'll have to adopt it in English. ;-)