Reply
Sun 6 Sep, 2009 01:48 am
Context:
Whatever the facts, that's all she needed to know as her own life moved toward its end. As for me, I wasn't quite sure what to make of it all, but given the life I've led, I could hardly be surprised that my father was more complicated than the idealized pictures I had lived with for nearly half a century. (My Life by Bill Clinton)
@oristarA,
What to make of something means what to think of something, what conclusion to draw from it.
Quote:what conclusion to draw from it.
Agreed. One sometimes does not know "what to make" of a confusing mass of different pieces of information.
Thank you both.
But what does "all" mean there?
@oristarA,
Quote:But what does "all" mean there?
If you mean this one...
I wasn't quite sure what to make of it
all
It means "the totality of it" - whatever Clinton was having trouble making sense of.
Consider:
There are so many birds in the sky that I cannot count
them all. (=all of them)
There is so much in the newspapers about Iraq, that I do not have enough time to read
it all. (=all of it)
"What to make of it all" means how to UNDERSTAND the information in front of u.
" how to deal with it at all" means what to DO about the situation.
David
Stumble It!
Tweet This
Bookmark on Delicious
Share on Facebook
Share on MySpace