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Deterioration
promotional write-up
Jan 31, 2010 00:41
14 yrs ago
English term

Ripple on the surface of their friendship

English Art/Literary Poetry & Literature
I'm just wondering if there is other meaning behind this.

He had come here every week to see Dirk (His best friend, owner of the snack bar) not because he particularly appreciated Dirk's variation on the currywurst (a kind of sausage) but because both men felt the need for the aimless, meaningless, trivial banter that rippled of the surface of their friendship.
Responses
4 +3 the superficial part of their relationship, beneath which lie deeper bonds of friendship
4 that kept their friendship continuing

Discussion

Richard Bowles Feb 1, 2010:
Agree with Diana. To 'ripple the surface' or 'ripple on the surface' both imply a disturbance to the friendship, which appears to contradict the implied meaning. 'Rippled off' looks right to me.
Jack Doughty Jan 31, 2010:
Rippled off I hadn't considered it, but now that you mention it, it seems possible, or even probable.
British Diana Jan 31, 2010:
rippled off ? "to ripple" can be transitive (with or without an adverbial of direction) or intransitive. Has anyone considered that it could be rippled off here?
Jack Doughty Jan 31, 2010:
Apologies to Judith and Oliver You are both right, in that "on" would make sense and "of" doesn't. I failed to notice the "of".
But I think it would be better still with no preposition, making friendship the object of the sentence.
Oliver Lawrence Jan 31, 2010:
I agree with Judith in that the "rippled OF the surface of their friendship" at the very end of the full quotation seems a simple typo for the "rippled ON the surface of their friendship" in the question header
Jack Doughty Jan 31, 2010:
I don't think the proposition is an error (Sorry, Judith, I always seem to be arguing points of US/UK English grammar with you!) If you throw a stone in the water, it ripples the surface of the water. But it does seem ambiguous. It could mean to disturb their friendship, but here it appears that the ripples are a decoration, a little something special between them.
Judith Hehir Jan 31, 2010:
preposition error? Should it read "rippled ON the surface of their friendship?"
Stephanie Ezrol Jan 31, 2010:
What do you mean by other meaning? We need to know what you think it means, so that we can tell you if there are other meanings.

Responses

+3
4 hrs
Selected

the superficial part of their relationship, beneath which lie deeper bonds of friendship

Assuming it should read "rippled ON the surface of their friendship," as in your header, I think it means that the trivial banter between them was apparently superficial and aimless, but underneath it their friendship ran very deep.
Peer comment(s):
agree Veronika McLaren : that was my general feeling, too
8 hrs
Thanks Veronika
agree Ildiko Santana
13 hrs
Thanks Ildikó
agree Annett Kottek (X) : Yes, their friendship is very deep and it transcends the need for words. That's why their banter is shown as 'agitating' the surface of the friendship.
2 days 4 hrs
Thanks Annett
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4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer. Comment: "thank you very much"
12 hrs

that kept their friendship continuing

"Trivial banter"-a pleasant talk about unimportant things; "that rippled OVER the surface of their friendship" - refers to exchange of pleasantries, "ripple" here is an "interplay", always present in their conversation.
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