[Vocabulary] the tablets had been passed by the British Museum

[jacob123]

Does "pass by" a phrasal verb here and if not, what does it mean?


On the other hand, Bailey told me clearly that the tablets had been passed by the British Museum, so that I fear I cannot acquit him of tampering with truth —and just there lies the great difficulty of deciding upon his case. But one has always to remember that physical mediumship has no connexion one way or the other with personal character, any more than the gift of poetry.

"The History of Spiritualism," by Arthur Conan Doyle

 

[emsr2d2]

Jacob123, you currently have 12 open threads on the first page of the Ask A Teacher section. That really isn't fair on other users (or on the volunteers). Please limit your questions about this interminable book to about three a day. Give other people a chance to ask their questions!

 

[jacob123]

Jacob123, you currently have 12 open threads on the first page of the Ask A Teacher section. That really isn't fair on other users (or on the volunteers). Please limit your questions about this interminable book to about three a day. Give other people a chance to ask their questions!

What about five per day?

 

[emsr2d2]

What about five per day?

What about I close all your threads for five days? This isn't a negotiation. I have asked you to limit your questions to three a day. Please do so.

 

[jacob123]

What about I close all your threads for five days? This isn't a negotiation. I have asked you to limit your questions to three a day. Please do so.

Hmmmmmmm. Ok. three questions per day.

 

[jacob123]

What about I close all your threads for five days? This isn't a negotiation. I have asked you to limit your questions to three a day. Please do so.

Can I ask in another section of this website?

 

[emsr2d2]

Can I ask questions [STRIKE]on[/STRIKE] in another section of this website?

As long as your questions aren't about that book and they are appropriate for the other sections, yes. We don't want to see more than three threads a day, in total, about the book.

 

[Rover_KE]

You should post your three daily questions about that book in General Language Discussions, the reason being that they are of no interest to any other ESL students.

I see you've also posted dozens of questions about the same book here.

 

[kilroy65]

[STRIKE]Does[/STRIKE] Is "pass by" a phrasal verb here and if not, what does it mean?


On the other hand, Bailey told me clearly that the tablets had been passed by the British Museum, so that I fear I cannot acquit him of tampering with truth —and just there lies the great difficulty of deciding upon his case. But one has always to remember that physical mediumship has no connexion one way or the other with personal character, any more than the gift of poetry.

"The History of Spiritualism," by Arthur Conan Doyle

No, it's not a phrasal verb; it's part of the passive construction "had been passed".

As to the meaning of "pass" in this context, see entry #15 here.

 

[Tarheel]

No, it's not a phrasal verb; it's part of the passive construction "had been passed".

As to the meaning of "pass" in this context, see entry #15 here.

That link won't open for me. Would you please explain that sentence? (Puzzled.)

 

[kilroy65]

That link won't open for me. Would you please explain that sentence? (Puzzled.)

"If someone in authority passes a person or thing, they declare that they are of an acceptable standard or have reached an acceptable standard." (Collins Dictionary)

The British Museum had officially declared that the tablets were genuine/authentic (or perhaps suitable for the purpose). There's no previous context, so my interpretation of the sentence might be wrong.

 

[Tarheel]

Come to think of it I think I have seen that usage in the expression "It will pass". (It's acceptable.) ("The British Museum verified its authenticity" would have made more sense to me.)

Thank you for your help!
:up: