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Does "not very" refer to "not very often; rarely"?

 
 
Reply Thu 21 Jan, 2016 12:23 pm

Context:

“New Planet Found” is about as exciting a headline nowadays as “Dog Bites Man,” which is to say, not very. Thanks largely to the space-based Kepler Mission, astronomers have identified about 2,000 new worlds, orbiting stars that lie tens or even hundreds of light-years from Earth, in the last two decades. Collectively, these are scientifically important, but with so many in hand no single addition to the list is likely to be much of a big deal. But a new planet announcement today from the California Institute of Technology is a very different proposition, because the world it describes does not circle a distant star. It is part of our own solar system—a place you would think we had explored pretty well by now.

More:
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/strong-evidence-suggests-a-super-earth-lies-beyond-pluto1/
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Type: Question • Score: 2 • Views: 1,574 • Replies: 8

 
View best answer, chosen by oristarA
chai2
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Reply Thu 21 Jan, 2016 12:25 pm
It means it's not very exciting.

oristarA
 
  1  
Reply Thu 21 Jan, 2016 12:31 pm
@chai2,
Thanks.
Does "a very different proposition" mean "a very different statement"?
chai2
 
  2  
Reply Fri 22 Jan, 2016 09:22 am
@oristarA,
No, it means this planet is a different proposition.

The section you posted is basically saying "So what, you discovered yet another planet that's light years away." They are saying this discovery is different and more interesting because it's in our own solar system.
oristarA
 
  1  
Reply Fri 22 Jan, 2016 11:18 am
@chai2,
chai2 wrote:

No, it means this planet is a different proposition.

The section you posted is basically saying "So what, you discovered yet another planet that's light years away." They are saying this discovery is different and more interesting because it's in our own solar system.


Thanks.
The meaning of the sentence is clear.
But you answered my question (Does "a very different proposition" mean "a very different statement"?) with "NO. "A very different proposition" means "a different proposition." So the meaning of the word proposition remains unsolved.
Tes yeux noirs
 
  2  
Reply Fri 22 Jan, 2016 11:41 am
@oristarA,
Quote:
So the meaning of the word proposition remains unsolved.

The noun 'proposition' means 'something presented for consideration', however here you need to consider the complete idiomatic phrase 'different proposition' which has a set meaning of 'a markedly different idea or thing'.

I told my friend that I find the idea of making love to his sister very appealing, but his grandmother would be a different proposition.







oristarA
 
  1  
Reply Fri 22 Jan, 2016 11:49 am
@Tes yeux noirs,
Cool.
Thanks.
0 Replies
 
sunmirosenberg
 
  -1  
Reply Sat 11 Nov, 2017 08:20 pm
@oristarA,
Your answer is correct, but the WHICH IS TO SAY, NOT VERY., is not a complete sentence. The rest of the article appears ok. So, the author of this article forgot to complete the sentence. It's possible that many did not reply due to the fact that young people, especially high school students in the U.S. are making up so many idioms. Honestly I hesistated myself, wonder if the youth started this idiom.
If I were you, I would skip that and go on.
oristarA
 
  1  
Reply Tue 14 Nov, 2017 02:57 am
@sunmirosenberg,
Good idea.
0 Replies
 
 

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