The city that forgot itself • Hacker News Board

Re: The city that forgot itself

#21

Post by bmacho » Thu, Mar 13, 2025, 9:17 AM UTC

dambi0 wrote: post #7

assimpleaspossi wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

To me that says her gaze is fixing the shrine.

What meaning do you infer from what it says?

What it means. The most annoying about that quote is that it is a correct sentence, with one single trivial meaning. Easy right? Your favorite type of sentence. Well guess what, in the text it stands for a totally different thing (without any particular reason or benefit).

I much prefer GP's broken sentence. It is syntactically broken, but it has all the words, much better than if it was syntactically correct with an entirely different meaning than the intended one.

Re: The city that forgot itself

#22

Post by bmacho » Thu, Mar 13, 2025, 9:22 AM UTC

SideburnsOfDoom wrote: post #20

marky1991 wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I legitimately would have to guess what they meant. The obvious reading to me is that she is magically repairing it by looking at it, though I would know that's not what they meant, which leaves brute force guessing. You can say that someone is 'fixed on' something, which means to look doggedly, but 'fixing something' is totally different, who says that? Subjective of course, but I just think it's a bad sentence.

> Subjective of course, but I just think it's a bad sentence. IDK, you could just look up the idiom that you are unfamiliar with? So that next time you come across it, you are better informed. https://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/fix+his+with+a+gaze https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/fix-a-g...

Collins is a counterpoint, right? Well it is, as it doesn't know this phrase.

Thefreedictionary I don't now what that is. I'd be much more convinced if it cited examples from actual usage from books, articles, subtitles. Looks more machine generated to me than human work.

Re: The city that forgot itself

#23

Post by marky1991 » Thu, Mar 13, 2025, 9:22 AM UTC

SideburnsOfDoom wrote: post #20

marky1991 wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I legitimately would have to guess what they meant. The obvious reading to me is that she is magically repairing it by looking at it, though I would know that's not what they meant, which leaves brute force guessing. You can say that someone is 'fixed on' something, which means to look doggedly, but 'fixing something' is totally different, who says that? Subjective of course, but I just think it's a bad sentence.

> Subjective of course, but I just think it's a bad sentence. IDK, you could just look up the idiom that you are unfamiliar with? So that next time you come across it, you are better informed. https://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/fix+his+with+a+gaze https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/fix-a-g...

The Collins example is not the same thing; you're fixing your gaze, not fixing the object itself. Again, the grammar just isn't the same.

Re: The city that forgot itself

#24

Post by bmacho » Thu, Mar 13, 2025, 9:26 AM UTC

SideburnsOfDoom wrote: post #19

bmacho wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> For example, it says: "A woman in her forties sits on a bench, fixing the shrine with her gaze." This particular example I don't think is poetic rather it is broken.

> I don't think is poetic rather it is broken. No, it is not. You are merely unfamiliar with this sentence construction. https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/fix-a-g... https://dictionary.cambridge.org/thesaurus/fix-one-s-gaze https://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/fix+his+with+a+gaze

Collins and Cambridge don't know about it (despite Cambridge having one of the best and largest corpus of spoken and written English). Thefreedictionary I don't accept as reliable.

Seems like this proves my point tbh.

Re: The city that forgot itself

#25

Post by SideburnsOfDoom » Thu, Mar 13, 2025, 9:27 AM UTC

marky1991 wrote: post #23

SideburnsOfDoom wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Subjective of course, but I just think it's a bad sentence. IDK, you could just look up the idiom that you are unfamiliar with? So that next time you come across it, you are better informed. https://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/fix+his+with+a+gaze https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/fix-a-g...

The Collins example is not the same thing; you're fixing your gaze, not fixing the object itself. Again, the grammar just isn't the same.

I have seen this construction before; I'm sorry if you have not. But that does not make it "broken".

Re: The city that forgot itself

#26

Post by afandian » Thu, Mar 13, 2025, 9:28 AM UTC

bmacho wrote: post #12

noduerme wrote: post #3

Earlier quoted context omitted.

English is a very beautiful language. There are many ways to say something similar, but each have slightly different meanings. In this case, the writer decided to use "flowery" language, which is usually to create a detailed picture, smell, and feeling for the reader. The point is not only to convey facts but to convey a sense of place. That is the reason for the complicated language. For example, it says: "A woman i…

> For example, it says: "A woman in her forties sits on a bench, fixing the shrine with her gaze." This particular example I don't think is poetic rather it is broken.

At least in British English it’s perfectly fine. A bit poetic, but not an obscure construction.

edit — NB This is a British English publication. This is an American English default site.

Re: The city that forgot itself

#27

Post by [deleted] » Thu, Mar 13, 2025, 9:28 AM UTC

SideburnsOfDoom wrote: post #20

marky1991 wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I legitimately would have to guess what they meant. The obvious reading to me is that she is magically repairing it by looking at it, though I would know that's not what they meant, which leaves brute force guessing. You can say that someone is 'fixed on' something, which means to look doggedly, but 'fixing something' is totally different, who says that? Subjective of course, but I just think it's a bad sentence.

> Subjective of course, but I just think it's a bad sentence. IDK, you could just look up the idiom that you are unfamiliar with? So that next time you come across it, you are better informed. https://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/fix+his+with+a+gaze https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/fix-a-g...

[deleted]

Re: The city that forgot itself

#28

Post by SideburnsOfDoom » Thu, Mar 13, 2025, 9:29 AM UTC

bmacho wrote: post #22

SideburnsOfDoom wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Subjective of course, but I just think it's a bad sentence. IDK, you could just look up the idiom that you are unfamiliar with? So that next time you come across it, you are better informed. https://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/fix+his+with+a+gaze https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/fix-a-g...

Collins is a counterpoint, right? Well it is, as it doesn't know this phrase. Thefreedictionary I don't now what that is. I'd be much more convinced if it cited examples from actual usage from books, articles, subtitles. Looks more machine generated to me than human work.

If you want cites google "fix him with your gaze" or "fix it with your gaze" - including the quotes.

Re: The city that forgot itself

#29

Post by noduerme » Thu, Mar 13, 2025, 9:33 AM UTC

marky1991 wrote: post #9

dambi0 wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What meaning do you infer from what it says?

I legitimately would have to guess what they meant. The obvious reading to me is that she is magically repairing it by looking at it, though I would know that's not what they meant, which leaves brute force guessing. You can say that someone is 'fixed on' something, which means to look doggedly, but 'fixing something' is totally different, who says that? Subjective of course, but I just think it's a bad sentence.

Fixing one's gaze on something is a standard English expression, it's just the active form of to be fixed on, which is passive. It means, literally, that one's line of sight is 'fixed upon' something. One's mind can also be fixed upon something. The verb is to fix or to affix. 'Fixed to' simply means 'attached to', but 'fixed on' usually implies something lighter attached to a weightier, possibly vertical surface, or something attached by glue or paste. You can also say that a postage stamp is fixed on an envelope.

It's a great sentence if you understand the different things it is communicating compactly and efficiently.

Re: The city that forgot itself

#30

Post by stavros » Thu, Mar 13, 2025, 9:33 AM UTC

SideburnsOfDoom wrote: post #19

bmacho wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> For example, it says: "A woman in her forties sits on a bench, fixing the shrine with her gaze." This particular example I don't think is poetic rather it is broken.

> I don't think is poetic rather it is broken. No, it is not. You are merely unfamiliar with this sentence construction. https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/fix-a-g... https://dictionary.cambridge.org/thesaurus/fix-one-s-gaze https://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/fix+his+with+a+gaze

The construction wasn't "fixing her gaze on the shrine" (which would be correct), it was "fixing the shrine with her gaze", which makes no sense. What the article says means either "she fastens the shrine into place using her eyes" or "she repairs the shrine with her eyes".