Hi,
What is meant by the following phrases?
1.“take sth the other side of the curtain”
2. “give an aspect to”
3.think in broken tones
4. make sheep’s eyes at
I look forward to your feedback
davidmich
Is there a context for any of those phrases?
“Makes sheep’s eyes at” is to flirt or to look romantically at someone. Often at someone you wish your involved with, in a wistful way.
It’s a bit old fashioned now.
An alternate phrase to “make sheep’s eyes at” is “to make cow’s eyes at.” It means the same thing, and comes from the large “soulful” eyes of a cow. Both are old-fashioned and seldom heard today. “Doe-eyed” might be close when applied to a person rather than an action.
To “give an aspect to” (sometimes “take an aspect of”) is to pay particular attention to examining part of a problem or use it as a prime example.
Could “think in broken tones” possibly be a mishearing of “think in broken tongues”? It would still be quite unusual, but there are some hits on Google for “think in broken” followed by a reference to a language.
“The other side of the curtain” might be a theatrical phrase, but I’m baffled by what “take sth” means except for a typo.
As I and others have mentioned before, providing context is always extremely helpful in establishing meaning. If you want better answers, more context is crucial.
sth = something.
Since all the phrases seem a bit archaic, this may be a typo for “taketh”
I note that the OP also posted another thread recently asking about phrases, where he likewise used cryptic abbreviations. davidmich, if you’re going to ask us about confusing things, it would really help if you don’t unnecessarily make them even more confusing.
“Sth” and “sb” are fairly standard abbreviations, but usually in the context of studying foreign languages. I would not have thought them confusing, but it appears, by the comments, they are somewhat specialized.
I’ve never come across either of them in my 47 years, so I agree they must be somewhat specialized.
And even taking “sh” to mean " something, then the phrase is missing something. “Take something the other side of the curtain” still doesn’t make sense…perhaps the OP can give a contextual example?
I thought “sth” for “something” and “sb” for “somebody” were quite standard. I’ve seen these abbreviations elsewhere. I wouldn’t have used them otherwise. If you type "“do sth with it’” into Yahoo you get quite a few hits. Ditto for “do sb a favor”.
- I have a feeling “take something the other side of the curtain” means to look at something from the opposite perspective.
- I like Exapno Mapcase’s answer: “give an aspect to”(sometimes “take an aspect of”) is to pay particular attention to examining part of a problem or use it as a prime example.
- I read the phrase “think in broken tones” (I actually wrote it down) in one of Christopher Hitchens’s essays. (“Arguably” collection). I’ll search for the actual sentence. But I have see the odd phrase elsewhere.
- Exapno Mapcase: An alternate phrase to “make sheep’s eyes at” is “to make cow’s eyes at.” It means the same thing, and comes from the large “soulful” eyes of a cow. Both are old-fashioned and seldom heard today. “Doe-eyed” might be close when applied to a person rather than an action.
Ivory Tower Denizen: “Makes sheep’s eyes at” is to flirt or to look romantically at someone. Often at someone you wish your involved with, in a wistful way.
Thank you all.
davidmich
I’ve never seen them either.
There are zero hits for it on Google or Google Books except for this thread.
These are abbreviations not generally known to Americans except the ones who have had experience in teaching English as a second language (ESL)
By the way I also read the phrase “in broken tones” in Hitchens’s essay collection “Arguably”. I’m still not clear on its exact meaning.
Instead, in the hollow empty of our inadequacy, we look upward, hands outstretched, and we say in broken tones, “God, help me. I am not going to get through this without you.”
ADVERB: WITH BATED BREATH, with the finger on the lips; sotto voce [It.]; in a -low tone, - cracked voice, - broken voice; in broken tones, aside, in an aside.
… they soothed, and comforted, and prayed for him; but his soul refused comfort, and all his strength appeared to have been broken down at once like a feeble reed. At last a momentary energy returned; his eyes were lifted to the gloaming heaven where a few stars had already begun to shine, and a bright look illuminated his countenance. They listened deeply—“Yes, mother,” he murmured, in broken tones, "forgiven now, for Christ’s dear sake. Oh, Thou merciful God! Yes, there they are, …
— Eric, or Little by Little • Frederic W. Farrar
“in broken tones”- cracked voice, - broken voice; in broken tones,
Or have interest in foreign languages, which is why I assume they’re so familiar to me. I looked through several foreign language study books, and most of them seem to have “sth” and “sb” or “sby” for “something” and “somebody.” So it appears to be a general foreign language study (in English) thing, not necessarily an ESL thing.
My question remains, though. What does it mean to “think in broken tones”?
Given the context, it would mean in a choppy manner, with a cracked voice. The sound of pleading/crying. At least that’s how I interpret it. It’s not a saying in English, or anything like that, to my knowledge.
ETA:That is response to the Hitchens context you gave with “say in broken tones” instead of “think in broken tones.”
Hitchens’s phrase was definitely “think in broken tones”.
Ah, I see. I didn’t realize the “say in broken tones” quote was another reference. I’d have to see the Hitchens in context to hazard a guess, because the phrase on its own doesn’t mean anything to me.
So ESL students are taught a non-standard set of shorthand abbreviations to help them communicate with English speakers who don’t know them?
I am not unfamiliar with ESL and I’ve never encountered this…