sprawl

[hela]

Hello again,

Would you please tell me how you would explain the verb "sprawling out" in this context? The definition I have found in the dictionary doesn't match.

"Quite an ovation," she cried, sprawling out of her first-class carriage. "They'll take us for royalty. Oh, Mr. Kingcroft, get us foot-warmers." E.M. Forster

All the best

[Rusty]

Hello again,

Would you please tell me how you would explain the verb "sprawling out" in this context? The definition I have found in the dictionary doesn't match.

"Quite an ovation," she cried, sprawling out of her first-class carriage. "They'll take us for royalty. Oh, Mr. Kingcroft, get us foot-warmers." E.M. Forster

All the best
Out is not part of the verb; it's an adverb. She sprawled as she came out of her carriage.

[hela]

Hello Rusty,

Ok, but then what's the meaning of "to sprawl (out of a carriage)" here?

[Rusty]

Hello Rusty,

Ok, but then what's the meaning of "to sprawl (out of a carriage)" here?
The dictionary says, "limbs stretched or spread out ungracefully." Can you imagine her in this posture?

[hela]

Could it be that she is leaning out of the carriage window and waving at her relatives in an ungraceful manner, moving her arms and legs frenetically ?

[Rusty]

Could it be that she is leaning out of the carriage window and waving at her relatives in an ungraceful manner, moving her arms and legs frenetically ?
That is possible. The context may tell you. How does the story continue? Is she out of the carriage afterward, or still inside?

[hela]

Here is the context:

They were all at Charing Cross to see Lilia off — Philip, Harriet, Irma, Mrs. Herriton herself. Even Mrs. Theobald, squired by Mr. Kingcroft, had braved the journey from Yorkshire to bid her only daughter good-bye. Miss Abbott was likewise attended by numerous relatives, and the sight of so many people talking at once and saying such different things caused Lilia to break into ungovernable peals of laughter.
"Quite an ovation," she cried, sprawling out of her first-class carriage. "They'll take us for royalty. Oh, Mr. Kingcroft, get us foot-warmers."
The good-natured young man hurried away, and Philip, taking his place, flooded her with a final stream of advice and injunctions —where to stop, how to learn Italian, when to use mosquito-nets, what pictures to look at. "Remember," he concluded, "that it is only by going off the track that you get to know the country. See the little towns —Gubbio, Pienza, Cortona, San Gemignano, Monteriano. And don't, let me beg you, go with that awful tourist idea that Italy's only a museum of antiquities and art. Love and understand the Italians, for the people are more marvellous than the land."
"How I wish you were coming, Philip," she said, flattered at the unwonted notice her brother-in-law was giving her.

Have a nice weekend :)

[Rusty]

Could it be that she is leaning out of the carriage window and waving at her relatives in an ungraceful manner, moving her arms and legs frenetically ?This describes her very well.

[hela]

Good morning, Rusty. Thank you for your confirmation. Now is my sentence (the one you have quoted) is written in correct English or should it be improved?

Have a nice Sunday :)

[Rusty]

Yes, that sentence is fine. There's a correction in this one:
"Now is my sentence (the one you have quoted) is written in correct English or should it be improved?"

[hela]

You're 100% right! Sorry about that.
One question, please. If I want to ask about how one could oppose / stand up against people who might gather some personal data about oneself and use it at work, for business purposes, etc, would I say: "How could one fight back/against/off such intrusion on one's privacy / stand up against such a breach / violation of one's private life "? Something else?

Thanks a million :)

[Rusty]

You're 100% right! Sorry about that.
One question, please. If I want to ask about how one could oppose / stand up against people who might gather some personal data about oneself and use it at work, for business purposes, etc, would I say: "How could one fight back/against/off such intrusion on one's privacy / stand up against such a breach / violation of one's private life "? Something else?

Thanks a million :)
Any of those would work. Another suggestion:
How could one defend oneself against a breach of privacy?

[hela]

Would you describe such behaviour/practice (?) as "indiscrete", "immoral", something else?
Many thanks :)

[Rusty]

Would you describe such behaviour/practice (?) as "indiscrete", "immoral", something else?
Many thanks :)
Intrusive, unethical and perhaps illegal.

[hela]

Hello, Rusty

Can I say : "some employers use tricky / artful methods to sound police computers out and probe into pple’s background."

Is the use of the expression "computerized personal records" correct?
What is " to pay off a hire purchase agreement", please?

[Rusty]

Hello, Rusty

Can I say : "some employers use tricky / artful methods to sound police computers out and probe into pple’s background."

Is the use of the expression "computerized personal records" correct?
What is " to pay off a hire purchase agreement", please?

I'd say, "Some employers use devious methods to access police computers and probe into people's backgrounds."

"Computerized personal records" sounds OK to me.

"Hire purchase agreement" is a term used in the United Kingdom. Here are websites that explain. "To pay off" means to make the final payment.

Click here. (http://encyclopedia.thefreedictionary.com/Hire-purchase+agreement)


And here. (http://www.1911encyclopedia.org/Hire-Purchase_Agreement)

[hela]

Good evening, Rusty

I had already seen the definition of wikipedia but there was something I didn't understand:

Such agreements, therefore, do not pass the property in the goods, which remains in the lender until all the instalments have been paid. But the terms of the agreement may sometimes purposely obscure the nature of the transaction between the parties, where, for example, the hire-purchase is merely to create a security for money.

See you :)

[Rusty]

Good evening, Rusty

I had already seen the definition of wikipedia but there was something I didn't understand:

Such agreements, therefore, do not pass the property in the goods, which remains in the lender until all the instalments have been paid. But the terms of the agreement may sometimes purposely obscure the nature of the transaction between the parties, where, for example, the hire-purchase is merely to create a security for money.

See you :)
Hela, I am not a lawyer, but this is how I understand the underlined parts:
do not pass the property.... = do not give ownership or title to the hirer.
merely to create a security... = to have a written document that is evidence of ownership and agreement to pay.

[hela]

Thank you VERY VERY much, Rusty. You're an angel!
Have a very nice evening.