I'll beat you black and blue with the flat=?

[Polyester]

I'll beat you black and blue with the flat=?

What does the sentence mean?

 

[Roman55]

I am not a teacher.

'The flat of' means the flat part of something, such as a hand.

If you beat/strike someone repeatedly with the flat of your hand, or other object, they will become bruised. Bruises are black and blue in colour. Get it?

 

[bhaisahab]

It means nothing as it is. It's incomplete.

 

[Rover_KE]

Polyester, please tell us where you saw 'I'll beat you black and blue with the flat=?'

It's meaningless as written.

 

[Polyester]

The author is C.S Lewis.
The book is The Voyage of the Dawn Treader
Please help.

 

[emsr2d2]

Was that exactly how the sentence was written? Did it really end with "... flat=?"?

 

[Tdol]

The full quote makes things clearer:

“Why do you not draw your own sword, poltroon!” cheeped the Mouse. “Draw and fight or I'll beat you black and blue with the flat.” (Source)

The mouse will beat the person not with the sharp sides of the blade but with the flat part to inflict pain but not injury.

 

[emsr2d2]

As always, complete quotes and context mean that we can actually answer the question. :-?

 

[Polyester]

I'm still confused.

Is the word "flat" a adjective or verb here?

 

[MikeNewYork]

It is definitely not a verb. It is functioning as a noun.

 

[emsr2d2]

Look HERE for an explanation of the terms used with swords (or at least one particular type of sword). As you can see from the second picture, the flat side of the blade is actually called "the flat", so it is a noun at the end of your sentence.

 

[Matthew Wai]

flat noun [countable]
6 the flat of somebody's hand/a knife/a sword etc
the flat part or flat side of something
──quoted from http://www.ldoceonline.com/dictionary/flat_2

Not a teacher.

 

[Tdol]

Is the word "flat" a adjective or verb here?

You can hit someone with a noun, but you will find it very hard to hit them with an adjective. ;-)