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Constructions vs Structures

Glossary entry

English term or phrase:

couldn\'t look my husband or my parents nearly knowing that

English answer:

nearly = in the eye

Added to glossary by Phong Le
Dec 12, 2013 12:58
10 yrs ago
3 viewers *
English term

couldn't look my husband or my parents nearly knowing that

English Bus/Financial General / Conversation / Greetings / Letters
We talked about the order, and then he asked me for the favor.
He says he’s very very close to getting a massive construction contract with the local government.

He just needs to convince the decision maker that his company is the best one for the job.
So, he wants two things from me;
first he wants me to ask my brother‐in‐law to support the application, and he also told me
there is this marketing fund which a few other people have contributed to, and it is this money
that will help clinch the deal.

I didn’t want to say no immediately, he is my third biggest customer.
But the marketing fund? It just didn’t feel right.
Now he said that the money would be for the head of planning, my brother‐in‐law, to help him make the right decision.
He said he’d be ever so grateful if I could help.
I felt really awkward especially involving my brother‐in‐law.

Ultimately I was being asked to contribute to a bribe.
I know these things happen, but I pride myself from working ethically and within the law.

It’s not the first time I’ve been tempted, but I couldn't look my husband or my parents nearly
knowing that I’ve done this.
Responses
4 +9 nearly = in the eye
4 +1 I couldn't look AT my husband or my parents IN THE FACE, knowing that I'D DONE THIS.

Discussion

Bernhard Sulzer Dec 13, 2013:
@Tony Thx for the compliment, Tony. It's all good. I'm okay. I didn't mean it too seriously, was just talking in general terms (for the "good" non-natives :)) And regarding your comment about taking the -iy sound of 'eye' for the '-ee' sound of '-ly', it might depend on the listeners' "aural" backgrounds, so to speak, and their level of English. But it's not clear how this problem started for the poster - did he transcribe it? Cheers!
Tony M Dec 13, 2013:
@ Bernhard I really don't know why you seem to be taking my remark so personally? It is clear that you are an extremely proficient EN speaker (far more so than I am in FR!), and my remark was in no way directed at yourself or anyone else for that matter. But like I said, it does help to understand likely error mechanisms.

In fact, the vital extra context we were all missing here was the fact that this was originally a SOUNDTRACK, and so what we are dealing with is a transcription error — which of course opens up all sorts of new possiiblities!

I have to admit I am still slightly puzzled how anyone could mistake the -iy sound of 'eye' for the '-ee' sound of '-ly'...
Bernhard Sulzer Dec 13, 2013:
@Cilian The native and advanced non-native reader (if not listening to it) looks at the sentence and says: mmh, that should probably be "in the eye". :)
Bernhard Sulzer Dec 13, 2013:
@ Phong Le et al. If you watch the video and listen closely, you can actually hear that she says "in the eye" and not "nearly," as Stephanie and Amel have already pointed out.
Check it out:
http://youtu.be/3NHeb03L7q4
Bernhard Sulzer Dec 13, 2013:
@ Tony / those non-native speakers It all depends on how well you speak/have learned a language. Granted, certain things will never be said by a native speaker. But that can also hold true for an advanced non-native speaker. OCR errors often play a role as well when things are switched, changed or left out. I just hate being labeled one of those #$#%@ non-native speakers who just can't help making those darn mistakes over and over again. I am sure your French is excellent and there are mistakes you'll never make because of your advanced command of that language.
Tony M Dec 13, 2013:
@ Bernhard No, of course not! But it can be said that there are certain types of errors that no native-speaker, even a not-terribly-literate one, would make; in particular, things like the use of a near synonym, but which does not fit in a given context. There are clear differences between the kinds of errors made by a native-speaker of EN (and I suppose other languages too) and those made by foreigners; and although the native/non-native discussion is not relevant per se, it does sometimes help to consider this point when weighing up the comparative plausibility of certain possible error mechanisms (like 'is it a typo or not?') or in attempting to decipher what a writer's intended actual meaning might have been.
Bernhard Sulzer Dec 13, 2013:
@Tony Not all non-native speakers/writers of English write gibberish (English) :)
Phong Le (asker) Dec 12, 2013:
the video... http://youtu.be/3NHeb03L7q4
Tony M Dec 12, 2013:
Faulty text There seems to be something seriously wrong with this text — or was it written by a non-native speaker?
I can imagine that 'nearly' might have been a transcription error for 'merely'; but even so, "couldn't look my husband..." just doesn't make sense. The more usual expression would be: "I couldn't look my husband or my parents in the eye/face knowing that I’ve done this."

I think you must have a text written by a non-native speaker (cf. also "Knowing that I've done this..." instead of 'knowing I'd done this...'

In which case, 'nearly' would need to be interpreted as 'meet the gaze of...' — in other words, I couldn't look them straight in the eye.

Responses

+9
3 mins
Selected

nearly = in the eye

replace "nearly" with "in the eye" and it makes sense.

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 10 hrs (2013-12-12 23:12:29 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

My responses below to peer comments are not intended to be in any way insulting, personal or directed towards the commenters.

Responses like mine crop up all over this place.

But WHY? They only detract from the level of professionalism.

Do contributors want to become popular by brown-nosing everyone?

Now be well! I insist!
Peer comment(s):
agree Charles Davis
34 mins
Oh thank you so much Charles, hope your dreams come true.
agree Yvonne Gallagher : :-)
38 mins
Oh Gallagy, be well, please
agree Victoria Britten : Or "in the face", cf.1045's answer
1 hr
Yes, amazing, may the sun keep shining on you
agree Stephanie Ezrol : Very clearly "in the eye" on the video
1 hr
Now, that's so special, thank you ever so much.
agree Arabic & More : Yes, especially after listening to the video.
1 hr
Wow, such insight. Amel for president. :-)
agree Terry Richards
2 hrs
You're so wise. :-)
agree Ashutosh Mitra
4 hrs
and please have a wonderful Friday
agree Peter Simon : But sorry, it's not about 'not by a native', but by sb not speaking good enough E
9 hrs
cough, how's the rash? :-)
agree Tony M : Now we know it's a transcription error, that explains the fault mechanism.
2 days 6 hrs
Something went wrong...
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer.
+1
46 mins

I couldn't look AT my husband or my parents IN THE FACE, knowing that I'D DONE THIS.


IMHO, this 'sounds' better in all variants of the English language ...
Peer comment(s):
neutral Victoria Britten : Partly: "look X & Y in the face, knowing..." OR "look at X & Y, knowing..." (I prefer the first).
17 mins
Merci Victoria pour votre opinion ...
agree Terry Richards : I think it would be slightly better without the "AT" but it's the right general idea.
42 mins
Thank you Terry ...
Something went wrong...
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