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Wed 24 Jul, 2013 07:53 am
“I’ve just trodden with all my weight on the foot of an eminent publisher as I was leaving my seat,” she cried, with a peal of delighted laughter. “He was such a dear about it; I said I hoped I hadn’t hurt him, and he said, ‘I suppose you think, who drives hard bargains should himself be hard.’ Wasn’t it pet-lamb of him?”
what does this sentence mean? this is from Saki's The Unbearable Bassington.
Thanks
@dalehileman,
It's in Portuguese, google translate just repeats the name.
There could be any number of reasons why they chose that name. Lam may be the initials/first three letters of the owners name. Or it could be the name of a loved one, or a nickname, or a vicinity near the pet shop.
All you're going to get is speculation.
@lizfeehily,
Sorry, I was answering Dahlia not you. I've just seen your post. It means sweet.
@lizfeehily,
Quote:‘I suppose you think, who drives hard bargains should himself be hard.’ Wasn’t it pet-lamb of him?”
Here's my take, Liz. Can't guarantee how accurate it is.
‘I suppose you think that a man who drives hard bargains in business should himself be hard/mean/angry with people who step on his foot.’ Wasn’t it [pet-lamb] sweet/kind/gentle [like a pet lamb] of him?”
Izzythepush wrote:Lam may be the initials/first three letters of the owners name. Or it could be the name of a loved one, or a nickname, or a vicinity near the pet shop.
Or the three first letters of the city where the pet shop is:
Lambari, Brazil.
But most probably the answer is what JTT suggests.
@lizfeehily,
Just means it was an endearing act for one typically thick-skinned.
@JTT,
Thanks JTT, I understand this now, "I suppose you think, who drives hard bargains should himself be hard" but this is really difficult to translate.
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