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Discussion Forum—A Way with Words, a fun radio show and podcast about language

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A dollar eighty
Raffee
Iran
238 Posts
(Offline)
1
2013/03/05 - 4:28am
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In Arthur Miller's The Death of a Salesman, the salesman's wife says, "So, it was a dollar eighty". (Couldn't find page numbers. Please go to the sixth 'eighty'). If it means $1.80, I couldn't find any relation between what comes before and after it. What did I miss?

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2
2013/03/05 - 5:00am
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In my adobe acrobat it's page 23 of 105.  

I guess she says the $1.80 is part of the $16.00 , but then she never explains how it comes to 16.
It seems wrong for Willy to say: 'I hope we didn't get stuck on that machine.' It should be 'I wish...' instead.
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3
2013/03/05 - 7:54am
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Yes, $1.80 is part of the $16.00, specifically the cost of the fan belt. As to "hope" and "wish"; "wish we didn't" would indicate something that happened in the past that is now regrettable. So I'm sure your thought is that since the purchase was in the past, that is when they got "stuck", so now they "wish" that hadn't have happened.   But at the present time, they don't know if they were "stuck" or not, only the future will tell, so they "hope" that the future won't bring that knowledge.   That is why "hope" is used.   I have rewritten this three times and it still looks as clear as mud. I hope you can understand it.

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4
2013/03/05 - 5:01pm
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I think that stuck means they got their minds too enamored with the merchandise to think about the disadvantages, and that was a fact that led to the current troubles.

If stuck means they cannot return or resell it, Willie should say, 'I hope we won't...'

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5
2013/03/06 - 1:01am
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One of the meanings of the verb  stick  is cheat. Willy is saying he hopes they didn't get cheated when they bought the refrigerator.

Raffee
Iran
238 Posts
(Offline)
6
2013/03/06 - 3:37am
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tromboniator said
One of the meanings of the verb  stick  is cheat. Willy is saying he hopes they didn't get cheated when they bought the refrigerator.

Yeah, my dictionary hasn't recorded it, but I found it in Webster's. That seems to better fit the bill, to me at least.

 

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7
2013/03/06 - 5:33am
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Why do I suddenly remember Bill Cosby warning the kiddies?- Be careful or you just might learn something.

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