Question
Actualizado en
5 dic 2020
- Coreano
-
Inglés (US)
-
Vietnamita
-
Japonés
Pregunta de Inglés (US)
"'how do you take the edge off this year?"
what does that mean?
"'how do you take the edge off this year?"
what does that mean?
what does that mean?
Respuestas
5 dic 2020
Respuesta destacada
- Inglés (US)
@luckyall
No, not at all, no need to apologize. I enjoy discussions about language -- and this makes me think, too. :-D
In my first draft of this message I was trying to argue that your revised sentence wouldn't work... but I think it would.
Suppose you and a friend are at home, and it's well-known that you have a neurotic dog that barks so much that it drives you crazy. You tell your friend that you bought some sedatives from the veterinarian and say «These pills ought to take the edge off of all that barking». To me, that would make perfect sense.
I think it has everything to do with the fact that it's a relatively simple cause-and-effect chain that everybody understands. The connection between curtains and the sun is obvious. Similarly, the connection between fresh air and sleepiness is something people are familiar with. Compare this to the edge of a sword and what it's used for -- that's a very simple connection.
And if everyone involved understands the connection between the neurotic dog that barks, and what the pills are intended to do, and the fact that the barking is irritating you, then I'd say the idiom fits. :-)
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- Inglés (US)
This is an idiomatic expression in English. It means that you make something less painful, or less "strong", or less offensive in some way.
Let me suggest a comparison. Imagine you have a sword with a very sharp edge that always cuts you by accident, and hurts you. So, to make it less painful for you, you could literally "take the edge off" the sword. That would make it less likely for the sword to cut you.
* This has been an awful year, I want to take the edge off of this year.
This means: I want to make the year seem less painful. Maybe by reading, or by playing sports, or by watching anime. Anything to make it less "sharp", or less painful.
* I had a hard day at work and I want to take the edge off.
This is basically the same. You want to do something to "diffuse" the tensions of the day.
* I had a fight with my husband and am really angry, can we go to the movies to take the edge off?
The person is stressed and angry, and wants to do something to make them feel better, to make her/his life better, to reduce the stress that they're feeling.
I hope that helps a little. Idioms can be very challenging.
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- Coreano
@argovela
* I had a fight with my husband and am really angry, can we go to the movies to take the edge off?
in that example, isnt it ambiguous if you are talking about her anger, or her stress?
how should I interpret it?
* I had a fight with my husband and am really angry, can we go to the movies to take the edge off?
in that example, isnt it ambiguous if you are talking about her anger, or her stress?
how should I interpret it?
- Inglés (US)
@luckyall
It's not really an either/or situation. Every difficult situation can have many factors to it -- stress, anger, hardship, exhaustion, frustration, etc. When one takes the edge off of something, one is generally talking about all the unpleasant factors together, as a unit. Think of it as "smoothing" the rough features that make something unpleasant.
It can probably apply to almost anything, really. For example, suppose you make a soup, and you've added too much salt. A friend might suggest that you add some water «to take the edge off».
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- Coreano
@argovela Oh, I see!
then could I use that expression in these ways too? are these sentences natural sounding?
1. This training will take the edge odf your dog barking.
2. I bought a new curtain to take the edge off some sunlight that comes into my room.
3. When I have to pull an all nighter but am too sleepy, I go outside for fresh air. it really takes the edge off sleepiness.
then could I use that expression in these ways too? are these sentences natural sounding?
1. This training will take the edge odf your dog barking.
2. I bought a new curtain to take the edge off some sunlight that comes into my room.
3. When I have to pull an all nighter but am too sleepy, I go outside for fresh air. it really takes the edge off sleepiness.
- Inglés (US)
@luckyall
(1) I don't think the idiom quite fits here. I'm not exactly sure why. Perhaps because the training is a complex action, or perhaps because there's no guarantee that the training will work. Perhaps the connection between the barking and the training isn't direct enough.
I think that if you said «These sound-cancelling headphones will really take the edge off of the dog's barking" it would make more sense.
I'm sorry, I wish I had a better explanation.
(2) I think this would work well, yes. The connection between the «irritation» and the «cure» is very direct and easy to understand.
(3) Exactly. This is exactly how the idiom is used. I'd probably say «... edge off THE sleepiness», but that's a minor thing.
All of your sentences would be understood, though, and they all make sense.
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- Coreano
@argovela Thank you! your explanation is really easy and clear.
btw about #1, If I rephrase the sentence into "This pill will really take the edge off the dog's barking", would that sound natural?(I switched "training" with "pill" bc you said that the reasons are perhaps something with the word training)
I'm sorry I'm going too deep here haha..😹
btw about #1, If I rephrase the sentence into "This pill will really take the edge off the dog's barking", would that sound natural?(I switched "training" with "pill" bc you said that the reasons are perhaps something with the word training)
I'm sorry I'm going too deep here haha..😹
- Inglés (US)
@luckyall
No, not at all, no need to apologize. I enjoy discussions about language -- and this makes me think, too. :-D
In my first draft of this message I was trying to argue that your revised sentence wouldn't work... but I think it would.
Suppose you and a friend are at home, and it's well-known that you have a neurotic dog that barks so much that it drives you crazy. You tell your friend that you bought some sedatives from the veterinarian and say «These pills ought to take the edge off of all that barking». To me, that would make perfect sense.
I think it has everything to do with the fact that it's a relatively simple cause-and-effect chain that everybody understands. The connection between curtains and the sun is obvious. Similarly, the connection between fresh air and sleepiness is something people are familiar with. Compare this to the edge of a sword and what it's used for -- that's a very simple connection.
And if everyone involved understands the connection between the neurotic dog that barks, and what the pills are intended to do, and the fact that the barking is irritating you, then I'd say the idiom fits. :-)
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- Coreano
@argovela That is one hell of an analysis! I gotta keep in mind the "cause and effect chain"!
I really appreciate it:) that really helped.
I really appreciate it:) that really helped.
- Inglés (US)
@luckyall
I struggle with idioms all the time with foreign languages, and it's incredibly frustrating sometimes to understand why a native speaker would use an idiom in some situations, and not use it in others. But it's fun to try and understand what's going on. Alas, sometimes one just has to memorize and accept specific usages. Fortunately I don't think that's true in this case! :-D
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- Coreano
@argovela absolutely true. it seems like you've already got the hang of how a language really works.... I wish you the best of luck with your target language!
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