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Tue 7 Aug, 2007 09:04 am
Jim, upset, confused, and intoxicated, stands up and throws his bar stool halfway across the bar, nearly missing a crowd of partiers by inches.
Is the sentence correct? Should 'missing' be 'hitting' instead?
Many thanks.
it depends --
if the bar stool hit anyone in the crowd, then it nearly missed them.
if the bar stoool didn't hit anyone in the crowd, then it nearly hit them.
otherwise the sentence is correct...
I'd throw the stool across the "bar room"--unless there was quite a crowd dancing on the bar.
You could also omit the word "nearly".
Your suggestion makes sense.
Thanks.
Quote:I'd throw the stool across the "bar room"--unless there was quite a crowd dancing on the bar.
It depends where you are. Here in the UK, "bar" is used to signify the whole room, and the phrase "bar room" isn't used at all. We would understand it if we heard it, of course, but it sounds odd.
Syntinen--
In the states "bar" refers to both the establishment and the long counter over which drinks are sold.
"Halfway across the bar" is ambiguous on this side of the pond.
Now if the action took place in a pub....
Tai Chi wrote:You could also omit the word "nearly".
Or replace it with "just".
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