have most of your height again to spare

[Maybo]

It's high enough so you could walk it without ducking your head, Charlie, and have most of your height again to spare.

Source: Fairy Tale by Stephen King

What does "have most of your height again to spare" mean?

 

[tllkt]

Not a teacher.

I guess it means it was almost high enough that another person the height of Charlie could fit on top of him. It was almost twice as high as Charlie.

 

[Tarheel]

It seems that the writer has created a character given to saying idiosyncratic things. When I first read that I said out loud, "What the heck does that mean"? If I ran across such an expression I might make a mental note of it and keep reading and hope that additional context will be helpful in helping me understand it.

www.onelook.com

 

[Maybo]

More context:
At the end is a stone-sided tunnel... or it might be better to call it a corridor. It's high enough so you could walk it without ducking your head, Charlie, and have most of your height again to spare.


The floor was dirt at the foot of the steps, but after I went on a bit... I now know it measures out at a little more than a quarter-mile.. it goes to stone flooring.

 

[Tarheel]

He's describing something neither of them can see. Charlie must be especially tall, because the speaker feels the need to tell him he won't need to bend over when walking through that tunnel.

 

[Maybo]

What does "spare" mean in the sentence?

 

[tllkt]

Not a teacher.

have something to spare - used to indicate whether someone has more than enough of (something) from Merriam-Webster

There would be enough space left above him for someone or something else (almost of Charlie's height) to occupy.

 

[Maybo]

Why is the word “again” needed in the sentence?

 

[emsr2d2]

Why is the word “again” needed in the sentence?

To show that it's in addition to the height of the person. Having said that, it would have been equally understandable but less natural without "again".

 

[Tarheel]

It seems unlikely to me that the ceiling is six feet or more above him.

 

[emsr2d2]

It seems unlikely to me that the ceiling is six feet or more above him.

Why? A twelve-foot high ceiling isn't unusual even in a normal house. In Stephen King's world(s), anything is possible.

 

[Tarheel]

OK. I have to keep in mind that it's fiction, I guess.

 

[5jj]

OK. I have to keep in mind that it's fiction, I guess.

I have lived in apartments in central Europe with a ceiling at least 150 cm above my head.