Glossary entry (derived from question below)
English term or phrase:
vignettes of a way of life
English answer:
individual remembered episodes of a former way of life
Added to glossary by
Jack Doughty
Mar 10, 2016 10:12
8 yrs ago
English term
vignettes of a way of life
English
Art/Literary
Poetry & Literature
Novel
She can summon vignettes of a way of life that most Parisians have long lost: resting her feet on a metal foot warmer filled with embers in a cold schoolroom; feasting on sloes from the hedges and on haws; the chestnut skins she’d throw in the fire, to her mother’s chagrin, for they’d later spoil the ash lye spread over the bucking cloth on the
laundry tub, and stain the linen...
Can I say "She can create a scene that Parisians have forgotten"?
laundry tub, and stain the linen...
Can I say "She can create a scene that Parisians have forgotten"?
Responses
4 +3 | individual remembered episodes of a former way of life | Jack Doughty |
4 +1 | brief descriptions | Mark Nathan |
4 | a cameo of a bygone way of life | Andrew Bramhall |
References
Why not use a dictionary? | James A. Walsh |
Change log
Mar 13, 2016 16:49: Jack Doughty Created KOG entry
Responses
+3
7 mins
Selected
individual remembered episodes of a former way of life
She can remember individual episodes from a way of life that most Parisians have long lost
Peer comment(s):
agree |
Yvonne Gallagher
10 mins
|
Thank you.
|
|
neutral |
Andrew Bramhall
: 'individual remembered episodes' sounds stilted as it's in the adjectival form, as does ' which most Parisians have long lost'; " long SINCE lost" sounds far better.
22 mins
|
agree |
philgoddard
3 hrs
|
Thank you.
|
|
agree |
Yasutomo Kanazawa
23 hrs
|
Thank you.
|
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer.
+1
7 mins
brief descriptions
The idea is that they are images that succintly capture life in the past.
Peer comment(s):
agree |
Yvonne Gallagher
: perhaps with "evocative"
8 mins
|
neutral |
Andrew Bramhall
: 'Brief descriptions' would be a summary or resumé; these are sketches bringing a bygone era to life;
19 mins
|
12 mins
a cameo of a bygone way of life
That's to say, a depiction or portrayal of a way of life that has now become obsolete and swamped in the mists of time;
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Note added at 12 mins (2016-03-10 10:25:18 GMT)
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cameo = sketch, representation, or potted history;
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Note added at 12 mins (2016-03-10 10:25:18 GMT)
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cameo = sketch, representation, or potted history;
Peer comment(s):
neutral |
philgoddard
: We're not looking for the best English-to-English "translation". The asker wants to know what it means.
8 hrs
|
Exactly; and the two previous answers don't provide it( the meaning) in my opinion;
|
Reference comments
1 hr
Reference:
Why not use a dictionary?
If you type "define vignette" into Google, you get this:
vignette
noun
1.
a brief evocative description, account, or episode.
"a classic vignette of embassy life"
https://www.google.es/#q=define vignette
vignette
noun
1.
a brief evocative description, account, or episode.
"a classic vignette of embassy life"
https://www.google.es/#q=define vignette
Peer comments on this reference comment:
agree |
Andrew Bramhall
: exactly, an evocative portrayal or depiction, often wistful;
52 mins
|
Thanks.
|
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agree |
philgoddard
: But KudoZ is a human dictionary! It just takes a bit longer to enter questions and get answers :-)
2 hrs
|
True enough! Thanks, Phil.
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agree |
Jack Doughty
3 hrs
|
Thanks.
|
|
agree |
Tina Vonhof (X)
4 hrs
|
Thanks.
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Discussion