Re: feverishly
- From: msb@xxxxxxx (Mark Brader)
- Date: Wed, 31 May 2006 15:22:35 -0000
"Pakku":
Seen in a recent email
"... we will have to work feverishly from now on to make the
deadline..."
I find something odd about the use of the word "feverishly" in this
context but can't place my finger on it. Is it really inapt? Are we
more likely to use feverishly in sentences like
"We worked feverishly over the weekend to complete the coding"
OR
"He is working feverishly to complete his returns by 4/15"
I think all of these are fine.
John O'Flaherty:
It seems odd to me too. It's good as a metaphorical description of
high, frenzied activity, but it has a negative quality that seems
strange when set as a target. Not impossible to say, but peculiar.
Hmm. The quoted statement could be made by the boss of the group who
will have to do this intense work, referring to himself and the rest;
or it could be made by a member of group, using "we" to exclude the boss.
The first case is setting a target; the second isn't. I took it to be
the second reading.
I guess it is an unusual word choice, but it still seems fine to me.
--
Mark Brader | "Some societies define themselves by being open to new
Toronto | influences, others define their identity by resisting.
msb@xxxxxxx | In either case, they take the consequences."
--Donna Richoux
My text in this article is in the public domain.
.
- References:
- feverishly
- From: pakku
- Re: feverishly
- From: John O'Flaherty
- feverishly
- Prev by Date: Re: Past perfect --- punctual
- Next by Date: Re: Past perfect --- punctual
- Previous by thread: Re: feverishly
- Next by thread: Re: feverishly
- Index(es):
Relevant Pages
|
