https://www.proz.com/kudoz/english/general-conversation-greetings-letters/7064918-reiterated-the-seriousness.html
May 20, 2022 00:45
1 yr ago
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English term

reiterated the seriousness

English Other General / Conversation / Greetings / Letters
Hello everyone,

From the book Choose Your Story, Change Your Life by Kindra Hall.
Jonathan and Zara are husband and wife. Some time ago Jonathan had cancer.

The doctor warned Zara it was going to be aggressive. Essentially, they were going to take everything out of Jonathan—all the cells, the bad and the good. He would be admitted into the hospital and not be allowed out for a month.

“She told me to see it as a rebirth. And I liked that story. I decided to fully embrace that story. To celebrate it, even. What a beautiful thing to be completely new in your forties. Few people get that chance.” Zara told Jonathan the rebirth story and shared the doctor’s recommendation to lean into the idea. “Those who resist that story,” Zara said, “have a harder time and less desirable results.” If Jonathan could surrender and embrace that story, too, the mind could help lead the body down the path of healing.

To be clear, Zara ***reiterated the seriousness***: “Make no mistake. This was not a woo-woo approach.” One of the most technical hospitals in the country was pumping her husband full of the most highly advanced medicine that science could create.

https://www.dictionary.com/browse/reiterate

1. to say or do again or repeatedly; repeat, often excessively.

Does "reiterated the seriousness" mean that Zara realized the seriousness and repeated to herself "Make no mistake. This was not a woo-woo approach"?

I must admit I doubt my own interpretation because if it is what Zara repeated to herself, why is it "This was not a...", not "This is not..."?

Thank you.

Discussion

Mikhail Korolev (asker) May 22, 2022:
Thank you, Arabic & More.
Arabic & More May 21, 2022:
I think that these were the words Zara repeated to the author of the book (Kindra Hall), emphasizing to Kindra that this was indeed a serious situation. I am assuming here that Kindra interviewed the couple and then transmitted the conversation to the reader with the use of this and other quotes.
Mikhail Korolev (asker) May 21, 2022:
Thank you, José and Ulla.
Ulla Kask May 20, 2022:
I understand that this is Zara explaining to Jonathan (in the present) what the doctor had told Zara (in the past). So Zara is reiterating to Jonathan that the situation is serious, because "this was not a woo-woo approach (that the doctor suggested)".
José Patrício May 20, 2022:
repeat - your link
Mikhail Korolev (asker) May 20, 2022:
My wild guess If we assume that "reiteraited" simply means "realized" and remove the quotations marks, we'll get:

To be clear, Zara realized the seriousness: Make no mistake. This was not a woo-woo approach. One of the most technical hospitals in the country was pumping her husband full of the most highly advanced medicine that science could create.

(In that case it will be what Kindra tells to the reader and the past tense will make perfect sense).

Responses

+1
1 day 14 hrs
Selected

stressed the seriousness by repetition/saying it in different words

simply

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Note added at 1 day 16 hrs (2022-05-21 16:54:07 GMT)
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reiterate
/riːˈɪtəreɪt/
Learn to pronounce
verb
verb: reiterate; 3rd person present: reiterates; past tense: reiterated; past participle: reiterated; gerund or present participle: reiterating

say something again or a number of times, typically for emphasis or clarity.
"she reiterated that the government would remain steadfast in its support"

reiterate
verb

say something again or a number of times, typically for emphasis or clarity.

repeat
say again
restate
retell
recapitulate
go over (and over)
iterate
rehearse
belabour
dwell on
harp on
hammer away at
do over
ingeminate
From Oxford Languages
Peer comment(s):

agree Yvonne Gallagher : quite simply
1 day 21 hrs
thanks
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4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer. Comment: "Many thanks to everyone. Thank you, Chris."
+1
14 mins

Zara reiterated the seriousness to Jonathan, not to herself

Zara reiterated the seriousness to Jonathan, not to herself, because she wanted Jonathan to accept and embrace the story.

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Note added at 1 hr (2022-05-20 02:27:47 GMT)
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@Asker: You're right. I was no aware of the past tense.

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Note added at 1 hr (2022-05-20 02:28:30 GMT)
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Typo: I was not aware
Note from asker:
Thank you, Kiet. Maybe I'm over-analyzing it, but if "This was not a woo-woo approach" is what Zara told Jonathan, why the past tense - was instead of is?
Peer comment(s):

agree Daryo : the past tense is there because she's telling a story that was already at the time of narration a story from the past.
14 hrs
Thank you!
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-1
1 day 1 hr

Reiterated the seriousness

Zara reiterated the seriousness to her husband
Peer comment(s):

neutral Barbara Carrara : How does this explain what the phrase means?!
4 hrs
disagree AllegroTrans : Explains nothing, just repeats the phrase; asker needs an explanation
13 hrs
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