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English idiom/expression

  Tags: Idiom | English
 Language Learning Forum : Specific Languages Post Reply
caam_imt
Triglot
Senior Member
Mexico
Joined 4863 days ago

232 posts - 357 votes 
Speaks: Spanish*, EnglishC2, Finnish
Studies: German, Swedish

 
 Message 1 of 4
17 January 2012 at 8:08pm | IP Logged 
While reading "The use of Force" by William Carlos Williams, I came across the following
sentence: "She did not move and seemed, inwardly, quiet; an unusually attractive little
thing, and as strong as a heifer in appearance".

I was just wondering what exactly is the part "as strong as a heifer in appearance"
supposed to mean in this context. Any ideas?
1 person has voted this message useful



s0fist
Diglot
Senior Member
United States
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260 posts - 445 votes 
Speaks: Russian*, English
Studies: Sign Language, German, Spanish, French

 
 Message 2 of 4
17 January 2012 at 10:20pm | IP Logged 
There's an expression "as strong as an ox" which means very strong. And a heifer is a young cow.
I do not think "as strong as a heifer in appearance" really means anything, just a jumbled simile.
A google search reveals that this is pretty much the only source of the quote.
I suspect the author is trying to say she's beautiful, but figured heifers are more beautiful than oxen, hence the mess.
Alternatively, perhaps, the author is translating something from another language.
Either way it doesn't seem like a proper usage of the idiom in English.
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espejismo
Diglot
Senior Member
Russian Federation
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Speaks: Russian*, English
Studies: Spanish, Greek, Azerbaijani

 
 Message 3 of 4
17 January 2012 at 11:41pm | IP Logged 
"Heifer" is a slang term for an overweight woman. I guess the idea here is that she does not look fragile or sickly – quite the opposite.
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caam_imt
Triglot
Senior Member
Mexico
Joined 4863 days ago

232 posts - 357 votes 
Speaks: Spanish*, EnglishC2, Finnish
Studies: German, Swedish

 
 Message 4 of 4
21 January 2012 at 11:26am | IP Logged 
Thanks guys!


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