could someone please help me paraphrase this sentence?

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His travels and experiences in those regions probably did not cover much ground or stretch over any great length of time, but he was one of those individuals who can describe a continent on the strength of a few days’ stay in a coast town as intimately and dogmatically as a paleontologist will reconstruct an extinct mammal from the evidence of a stray shin bone. He had the loud penetrating voice and the prominent penetrating eyes of a man who can do no listening in the ordinary way and whose eyes have to perform the function of listening for him. His vanity did not necessarily make him unbearable, unless one had to spend much time in his society, and his need for a wide field of audience and admiration was mercifully calculated to spread his operations over a considerable human area.

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Type: Question • Score: 5 • Views: 1,520 • Replies: 28

[+3] - McTag - 07/31/2013 Another uncalled-for gripe from our resident arse.

@lizfeehily,

Quote:

his need for a wide field of audience and admiration

his desire to be appreciated

Quote:

was mercifully

was with unintended restraint

Quote:

calculated to spread his operations over a considerable human area.

diluted by its generality

We're glad he tried so hard to include everybody that his argument fell flat

1 Reply

It says nothing about "his argument." It means that his need for attention made him spread is preening and posturing around to as many people as possible, and therefore, mercifully, if one didn't spend much time in his company, one wasn't much the victim of his antics.

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@dalehileman,

dalehileman could you please be more specific? I still couldn't get it.

1 Reply

@lizfeehily,

It's rather poor writing, but here goes

Quote:

his need for a wide field of audience and admiration
his liking for talking to to big audiences

was mercifully calculated
had the fortunate effect of

to spread his operations over a considerable human area.
making him travel around a lot

2 Replies

@lizfeehily,

Liz forgive me for departing from more nearly basic vocabulary, a terrible habit from the esl's point of view

Anyhow as Set says I was probably wrong

Still I'd defend my use of "dilution," which means to spread out

….sort of

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@McTag,

thanks McTag, now I see.

1 Reply

@lizfeehily,

You're welcome.

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@McTag,

Quote:

It's rather poor writing,

Another bit of nonsense memorized straight out of some misbegotten style manual. It's a "just throw out that line and it'll make you appear learned" notion.

Go ahead and tell us how it's "rather poor writing", McTag.

1 Reply

@JTT,

Another uncalled-for gripe from our resident arse.

1 Reply

@McTag,

Go ahead and tell us how it's "rather poor writing", McTag.

1 Reply

@JTT,

Apart from not being readily understood by a diligent and enquiring reader, you mean?

1 Reply

@McTag,

Quote:

Apart from not being readily understood by a diligent and enquiring reader, you mean?

It caused Setanta no problem. It caused you no problem.

Go ahead and tell us how it's "rather poor writing", McTag.

1 Reply

@JTT,

Well for a start there's absolutely no mention of what America got up to in Vietnam, Laos, Honduras, Afghanistan, Chile etc. The guy's obviously an apologist for American war crimes, which is probably why you're so keen to suck his cock.

1 Reply

@izzythepush,

You're getting as stupid as H20man, Izzy. Or H20man is getting as stupid as you.

Go ahead and tell us how it's "rather poor writing", Izzy.

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@JTT,

When you're honest about who you are we might talk, but I've really got no time for war criminals

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@JTT,

Quote:

Go ahead and tell us how it's "rather poor writing", Izzy.

He's losing his few remaining marbles. He can't remember who he's insulting now.

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@McTag,

Have you noticed how he derails every thread except language threads just because that's what he wants to talk about? Have you also noticed that he is completely ignorant of all forms of English except American?

His answers don't help at all, they are unnecessarily overcomplicated because he just wants to show people how clever he is. He constantly changes his stance from prescriptive to descriptive depending on who he's talking to. He dismisses Shakespeare as ungrammatical which proves he doesn't know what he's talking about.

He'll now probably claim he was being tongue in cheek or ironic, and that I should be smart enough to spot that. Then he'll compare me to posters he knows I despise. He can cajole and bully, but he can't be honest, not about himself at any rate.

1 Reply

@McTag,

We have yet another of your silly claims that you can't defend, McTag, so now you use another silly diversion.

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@izzythepush,

Quote:

He constantly changes his stance from prescriptive to descriptive depending on who he's talking to.

You simply don't understand the difference, I could say, well enough, but with this it's apparent you don't understand at all.

Quote:

He dismisses Shakespeare as ungrammatical which proves he doesn't know what he's talking about.

I didn't "dismiss Shakespeare as ungrammatical", Izzy. Again, your profound ignorance on these issues is readily apparent.

Quote:

Have you also noticed that he is completely ignorant of all forms of English except American?

Another falsehood. I've schooled a number of Brits, including McTag, on many aspects of BrE. In fact he was schooled again, quite recently, on his ignorance with respect to 'may/can'.

You likely have noticed, though you are nowhere near honest enough to admit it, that McTag doesn't ever defend his language positions. He's much like you in that respect. When you're caught out/when you catch yourself out, you resort to these childish lies instead of honestly addressing the issues.

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could someone please help me paraphrase this sentence?

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