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In a book I'm reading a chapter starts with "Saturnino lost them in the early streets of the Bosques de las Lomas district ...".
For context, this part is set in Mexico City, and Saturnino is in his car, following Haydon et al in their car. But it's strangely written, with an abundance of narrative detail that sometimes causes me to lose my way, put the book aside, and come back to it and try to pick up the thread. Haydon is also following other cars, including Saturnino's, at various times. So, when I opened this chapter I was a little unsure of who was following whom. I initially read it as Saturnino successfully outrunning the others and escaping. But as I read on it became clear that Saturnino was doing the following, and Haydon's car was the one that got away (although they weren't aware they were being followed at this point).
What's it called when a sentence or phrase can have two diametrically opposing meanings depending on context? In this scenario both the follower and the followee could have used the "I lost them" idiom and the listener would not have had any trouble understanding. -- Jack of Oz [pleasantries] 00:10, 7 July 2023 (UTC)
I left him in Damascus, the year before Tamerlane sacked it.
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< July 6 | << Jun | July | Aug >> | July 8 > |
Welcome to the Wikipedia Language Reference Desk Archives |
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The page you are currently viewing is a transcluded archive page. While you can leave answers for any questions shown below, please ask new questions on one of the current reference desk pages. |
In a book I'm reading a chapter starts with "Saturnino lost them in the early streets of the Bosques de las Lomas district ...".
For context, this part is set in Mexico City, and Saturnino is in his car, following Haydon et al in their car. But it's strangely written, with an abundance of narrative detail that sometimes causes me to lose my way, put the book aside, and come back to it and try to pick up the thread. Haydon is also following other cars, including Saturnino's, at various times. So, when I opened this chapter I was a little unsure of who was following whom. I initially read it as Saturnino successfully outrunning the others and escaping. But as I read on it became clear that Saturnino was doing the following, and Haydon's car was the one that got away (although they weren't aware they were being followed at this point).
What's it called when a sentence or phrase can have two diametrically opposing meanings depending on context? In this scenario both the follower and the followee could have used the "I lost them" idiom and the listener would not have had any trouble understanding. -- Jack of Oz [pleasantries] 00:10, 7 July 2023 (UTC)
I left him in Damascus, the year before Tamerlane sacked it.