All over her?

[Polyester]

What does the sentence mean "all over her"?

I quoted a sentence from book for your reference.
"she thought she might be sick; she could smell him all over her."

 

[Johnyxxx]

Not a Teacher.

The man she had sex with a moment before is gone now but still she can smell him. Simply his smell is still in her nostrils though he has gone.

 

[Polyester]

What about all over her?

 

[probus]

I strongly disagree with the response of Johnnyxxx. There is no reason to presume that sex was involved or has occurred. "All over her" just means overwhelmingly. "I smelled it all over me" means that the smell was powerful and that I had to take strong action to get rid of it.

 

[MikeNewYork]

It could be after shave lotion.

 

[Matthew Wai]

'She was standing near a guy stinking of sweat on a bus; she could smell him all over her.'
Is it possible?
Not a teacher.

 

[Johnyxxx]

I strongly disagree with the response of Johnnyxxx. There is no reason to presume that sex was involved or has occurred. "All over her" just means overwhelmingly. "I smelled it all over me" means that the smell was powerful and that I had to take strong action to get rid of it.

Ok

The sex was definitely involved, you can find it in the original text. So the thick smell of the man she had sex with a moment before was still in her nostrils.

http://www.oldlibrary.me/fantasticfiction/The_Casual_Vacancy/17744.html

 

[Matthew Wai]

It could involve no sex if my above sentence was possible.

Not a teacher.

 

[Rover_KE]

If Polyester had named the title and author of the book he was quoting from in the original post, we could have reached a correct conclusion much sooner.

 

[Johnyxxx]

If Polyester had named the title and author of the book he was quoting from in the original post, we could have reached a correct conclusion much sooner.

I could not agree more; knowing the source helps much. But what seems strange to me is why Polyester "thanked" and "liked" the post in which Probus "strongly disagreed" the sentence Polyester wanted to help with had to be about sex; though the full text speaks volumes what it is all about ... Weird

 

[Barb_D]

'She was standing near a guy stinking of sweat on a bus; she could smell him all over her.'
Is it possible?
Not a teacher.

No, Matthew. To get the smell of a man "all over you" you need to be touching the person. To be honest, even without the citation, I went to Johnny's interpretation. I didn't know if she'd been raped or what, but it seemed clear to me the man's body had been in close contact with a lot of her body.

 

[emsr2d2]

Some phrases and words simply elicit a very specific response in the majority of native speakers and this is one of them. I also assumed that they had been involved in something very intimate, willingly or otherwise.

 

[Polyester]

No, Matthew. To get the smell of a man "all over you" you need to be touching the person. To be honest, even without the citation, I went to Johnny's interpretation. I didn't know if she'd been raped or what, but it seemed clear to me the man's body had been in close contact with a lot of her body.

So, the sentences was related to sex or rape?

 

[probus]

I could not agree more; knowing the source helps much. But what seems strange to me is why Polyester "thanked" and "liked" the post in which Probus "strongly disagreed" the sentence Polyester wanted to help with had to be about sex; though the full text speaks volumes what it is all about ... Weird

If I were a moderator, I would do something about Johnnyxxx. His intent is clearly not to help our students to learn.

 

[Barb_D]

See Johnny's posts, Polyester. He found the story and gave the meaning.

 

[Matthew Wai]

No, Matthew. To get the smell of a man "all over you" you need to be touching the person.

On a packed bus or train, the passengers could be touching one another. That involves no sex.

Not a teacher.

 

[Barb_D]

Your original question, Matthew, said "near" another person, not "pressed up against another person for some time."

 

[emsr2d2]

On a packed bus or train, the passengers could be touching one another. That involves no sex.

Not a teacher.

No, but as I said, a phrase such as "the smell of him was still all over her" elicits a specific response in most native speakers. Yes, of course if I were pressed up against a very smelly homeless person or something, then the smell would probably still be on my clothes some time later but I would not phrase that to a third party in the same way. I might say "Oh, it was disgusting. I was pressed right up against this gross, smelly guy on a packed bus earlier and I swear I can still smell him. My clothes reek of him". I would not phrase it as "I can still smell him all over me".

 

[Matthew Wai]

I would not phrase it as "I can still smell him all over me".

Because it inclines people to think of sex. Correct?

Not a teacher.

 

[MikeNewYork]

It evidently inclines some people to think of that, but not all.

I have come home many nights with the smell of a woman all over me, and there was no sex involved.