The Reading Room

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3:07 AM

@Randal'Thor If someone says “Give it a rest” to someone, is it considered rude? Because a google search shows that it means “Stop talking so much”. But the actual workings of “Give it a rest” seems like a request “give it a rest and everything will be fine”.

So, which one is correct? Is it rude and empowering or caring and polite?

6 hours later…

Bookworm

8:46 AM

Q: Petrarch Sonnets numbering

I have a question regarding the numbering of the Petrarch Sonnets. The Hungarian pianist and composer Franz Liszt transcribed for piano three of the Sonnets: 47, 104, 123. We can be sure of which Sonnets Liszt had in mind, because there's an earlier version of the three pieces for voice and pian...

Rand al'Thor

9:05 AM

@Knight The most common usage of the phrase means something along the lines of "that's enough, stop it". Not quite as rude as "shut up", but in the same ballpark.

2 hours later…

Bookworm

11:12 AM

Q: Confessions of a Born Spectator by Ogden Nash

The fourth line of the last stanza (stanza-6) in the poem mentioned above is.... Buy tickets worth their radium What does 'radium' mean here? What does the phrase 'worth their radium' mean?

poetry interpretation

1 hour later…

Rand al'Thor

12:31 PM

Q: Is the Usage "I are" proper English?

So I'm reading a 19th-century novel called The Count of Monte Cristo, and I came across this particular usage, which is: [H]e continued," let us make all possible speed. I are most anxious to finish my evening at the Duke of Bracciano's." I'm aware some usages in the book tend to be rather old-fa...

usage agreement literary-english

Another literature-related question on its way to being closed at ELU. But as it seems to be nothing more than a translation misprint, I'm not flagging this one for migration.

Rand al'Thor

12:49 PM

Q: What is the meaning of "dole cheque" in the following context?

I know that "dole" means "benefit paid by the state to the unemployed". But I wonder how it is related to the following context. ‘I wish you didn’t have to go away,’ she blurts out and although she doesn’t cry, her face contorts into anger and sadness and she punches the wall of the bus shelter ...

meaning meaning-in-context

^ that one, on the other hand, might be more interesting, with a little bit more depth and cultural context as well as just the literal meaning of the term.

4 hours later…

Bookworm

4:35 PM

Q: What is the point of "the story so far"/recaps in book series?

I just finished the book "The Fellowship of the Ring". Now I've started with "The Two Towers". It begins by recapping the story of the first book. For who exactly is this "recap"? If you haven't read the first book, it would be insanity to start reading the second in the trilogy. If you have read...

the-lord-of-the-rings

7 hours later…

Bookworm

11:41 PM

Q: Looking for the title of a book

I read a book when I was younger that my grandma brought me and loved it. It was about a panda who ate liqourice and used a sudoku square to do magic. I really would like to find this book for my son