Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

The city that forgot itself

thecritic.co.uk

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

81–90 of 93 posts

Re: The city that forgot itself

#81

Post by gdds »

bmacho wrote: post #24
SideburnsOfDoom wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> 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.

(part 1/3)

Let's put this to bed once and for all. The sentence under discussion is:

> A woman in her forties sits on a bench, fixing the shrine with her gaze.

The construction in this sentence is perfectly standard in both British and American English, documented by reputable dictionaries, and in common usage across contexts from tabloids and young adult fantasy to newspapers of record and literary fiction.

Dictionaries: Several commenters have posted dictionary entries for related but distinct constructions like "fix a gaze on." Here are entries supporting the exact construction under discussion.

1. https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/fix-with

2. https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/fix%20(someone)%2...

3. https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/fix, definition 9: "If you fix someone with a particular kind of expression, you look at them in that way."

- "He took her hand and fixed her with a look of deep concern. [VERB noun with noun]"

- "He fixed me with a lopsided grin. [VERB noun with noun]"

examples from other Collins entries:

- "The man fixed his interrogator with a steady gaze and spoke quietly but firmly." (https://www.collinsdictionary.com/sentences/english/gaze)

- "He pulls his other hand towards his face and fixes me with an intense gaze that has been well practised." (https://www.collinsdictionary.com/us/dictionary/english/inte...)

4. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/fix#Verb, definition 1.1: "(Of a piercing look) to direct at someone." (note that definition 1, but not 1.1, is marked as obsolete)

- "He fixed me with a sickly grin, and said, 'I told you it wouldn't work!'"

- "She sniffed, too, comprehendingly, and fixed her son with a relentless eye."

5. https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/definition/englis..., idioms: "fix somebody with a look, stare, gaze, etc.: to look directly at somebody for a long time"

- "He fixed her with an angry stare."

6. Examples from other dictionaries exhibiting the construction:

- "To glare is to fix another with a hard, piercing stare" (https://ahdictionary.com/word/search.html?q=gaze)

- "Aron Nimzowitsch, a contemporary of Alekhine’s, would smoke a noxious cigar and fix his opponent with a dread stare." (https://www.dictionary.com/browse/nimzowitsch)

Re: The city that forgot itself

#82

Post by gdds »

gdds wrote: post #81
bmacho wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

(part 1/3) Let's put this to bed once and for all. The sentence under discussion is: > A woman in her forties sits on a bench, fixing the shrine with her gaze. The construction in this sentence is perfectly standard in both British and American English, documented by reputable dictionaries, and in common usage across contexts from tabloids and young adult fantasy to newspapers of record and literary fiction. Dictiona…

(part 2/3)

Examples from American newspapers:

New York Times

- He fixed me with a hard gaze and said: "I just gave you a $5,000 raise. Now tell me what happened." (https://www.nytimes.com/2006/05/12/opinion/12friedman.html)

- She fixed him with a steely gaze and finished him off with a single line: "You, sir, are a cad." (https://www.nytimes.com/1994/11/13/magazine/about-men-unhand...)

- Ms. Smith fixed him with a stony gaze. (https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/05/health/navajo-children-cu...)

Washington Post

- "Another student fixed his sweatsuit with a stinging gaze." (https://www.washingtonpost.com/posteverything/wp/2015/01/27/...)

- "She fixed her interviewer with a direct gaze and rejected the idea that she is pursuing policies that are detrimental to public safety." (https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2021/10/26/rachael-rol...)

- "Peskov was chatting over coffee here in Sochi with a few reporters, and he fixed them with a true-believer gaze as he described the Russia that will be revealed — especially to Americans viewing the world through Cold War-frosted glasses — as the flags are raised for the Opening Ceremonies on Feb. 7, 2014." (https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/europe/russia-expects-o...)

Wall Street Journal

- In an early scene in "To Have and Have Not" she fixed Mr. Bogart with a smoldering gaze that became known as "the Look." (https://www.wsj.com/articles/lauren-bacall-dies-at-age-89-14...)

- As he fixes the camera with a steady gaze, you can see the magnetic mystic he must have been. (https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052702303325204579465...)

- The King fixed me with a serious look. (https://www.wsj.com/articles/is-american-ninja-warrior-the-f...)

USA Today

- She fixed me with a hard look and shot back with a slap at (Geraldine) Ferraro. (in a quote: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/columnists/rochelle-rile...)

- In the middle of dialogue, he turned, fixed them with a square stare and said, “Now pay attention to the play.” (https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2022/10/15/nh-e...)

- After setting the tone for their set with explosive performances of "Brenden Lechner" and "Moldy Cannoli" while wrapping the mike around his neck like a young Iggy Pop while fixing the crowd with a confrontational blank stare, Robbie Pfeffer announced, "We are Playboy Manbaby. Not to be confused with the drum circle." (https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/music/2015/03/2...)

Re: The city that forgot itself

#83

Post by gdds »

gdds wrote: post #81
bmacho wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

(part 1/3) Let's put this to bed once and for all. The sentence under discussion is: > A woman in her forties sits on a bench, fixing the shrine with her gaze. The construction in this sentence is perfectly standard in both British and American English, documented by reputable dictionaries, and in common usage across contexts from tabloids and young adult fantasy to newspapers of record and literary fiction. Dictiona…

(part 3/3)

Examples from British newspapers:

The Times

- She fixed me with a beady gaze, allowed a dramatic pause, then replied slowly and carefully: “I’m afraid I think I do”. (https://www.thetimes.com/uk/politics/article/boris-johnson-s...)

- Pairs of stretching lions fix you with a goggling gaze, licking their lips and unsheathing their shining claws. (https://www.thetimes.com/culture/books/article/englands-embr...)

- Neil Armstrong fixed her with a steady gaze. (https://www.thetimes.com/article/a-robot-from-the-dark-side-...)

Metro

- She fixes him with a lustful, narrow-eyed stare as they move together. (https://metro.co.uk/2024/06/15/bridgerton-fans-can-make-mirr...)

- My GP fixed me with a steely stare as she uttered the worst sentence imaginable: ‘Have you tried running?’ (https://metro.co.uk/2024/02/15/doctor-prescribed-running-dep...)

- Any time I attempted to say anything complimentary to Lemmy to his face, he would fix me with a kind of amused, contemptuous stare. (https://metro.co.uk/2016/01/01/queens-brian-may-calls-lemmy-...)

Daily Mail

- She would fix me with a regal stare and say, "Do I look all right?" (https://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-1231133/How-fines...)

- The catwalk queen fixed the camera with a sultry gaze as she sipped her drink (https://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-5059909/Kate-M...)

- All the while he fixes me with a similarly powerful gaze, which makes me rather nervous. (https://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-97398/Why-celebri...)

The Sun

- Footage shows the Government’s deputy chief whip Christopher Pincher fixing the Speaker with a firm stare before calling him a “bully” three times after he lectured Commons Leader Andrea Leadsom over procedure. (https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/8158041/government-whip-caught...)

- Tyra Banks fixes the camera with a sultry gaze in modelling snap (https://www.thesun.co.uk/tvandshowbiz/3878793/americas-got-t...)

- FLAME-haired model Emily Deyt-Aysage shows her mettle by fixing the camera with a steely gaze. (https://iframe.thesun.co.uk/tvandshowbiz/29013053/emily-deyt...)

Examples from books:

- Tenga fixed him with a pointed gaze, as if the question made him doubt Eragon's intelligence. (https://www.google.com/books/edition/Brisingr_Or_The_Seven_P...)

- She sounded slightly strangled until she paused to clear her throat, then fixed him with a steady, determined gaze. (https://www.google.com/books/edition/Lord_of_Chaos/owkKhVCq6...)

- She fixed him with a serious gaze. (https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Pawnbroker/11WUYsOt...)

Re: The city that forgot itself

#84

Post by SideburnsOfDoom »

bmacho wrote: post #62
afandian wrote: post #55

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm not sure what you're trying to achieve here. If you're trying to understand the original article I think you have enough information. If you want to expand your understanding of English then you have some leads to follow and an opportunity to learn. If you don't believe them that's your choice, but it's not evidence to the contrary. If you're trying to gate-keep and prescribe someone else's language, then you sho…

I don't try to accomplish here anything. I expressed my opinion that I don't think that particular phrase is poetic , it is just broken without being poetic. Then people tried to prove that it is indeed an existing English idiom, which is usually very easy, they are in the dictionaries, in the books, in the articles, on the internet. Then they failed during this process, which made me more confident in my opinion. >…

> Then people tried to prove that it is indeed an existing English idiom ... Then they failed during this process, which made me more confident in my opinion.

This is a very arrogant statement.

...

> Okay, I can accept this.

LOL. And indeed LMAO.

This method is producing poor results for you, maybe re-evaluate it?

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=43358412

Re: The city that forgot itself

#85

Post by SideburnsOfDoom »

marky1991 wrote: post #79
SideburnsOfDoom wrote: post #74

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> What do you expect me to "learn" in this context? I have now downgraded my expectations, learning is indeed optional. > But the whole point of language is to communicate with others and this sentence is clearly confusing to many people. Or - hear me out - maybe you're not in the target audience of this piece in "The Critic: Britain's Most Civilised Magazine". Not everything is written for everyone, and it's useless…

"I have now downgraded my expectations, learning is indeed optional." So I ask you a question and you then don't answer it but instead just reply with sarcasm? I don't think this is a polite way to have a conversation, so I'm out.

> I don't think this is a polite way to have a conversation, so I'm out.

Indeed, everything that I feel needs saying is already in this thread somewhere, including the 2nd para of that comment. Sometimes it's said more than once.

There's no more. You taking meaning from it is in now up to you; as I am not paid to teach, there are strict limits to the effort that I will put into it, especially when unwillingness is demonstrated and lived experience dismissed.

Re: The city that forgot itself

#86

Post by SideburnsOfDoom »

gdds wrote: post #82
gdds wrote: post #81

Earlier quoted context omitted.

(part 1/3) Let's put this to bed once and for all. The sentence under discussion is: > A woman in her forties sits on a bench, fixing the shrine with her gaze. The construction in this sentence is perfectly standard in both British and American English, documented by reputable dictionaries, and in common usage across contexts from tabloids and young adult fantasy to newspapers of record and literary fiction. Dictiona…

(part 2/3) Examples from American newspapers: New York Times - He fixed me with a hard gaze and said: "I just gave you a $5,000 raise. Now tell me what happened." ( https://www.nytimes.com/2006/05/12/opinion/12friedman.html ) - She fixed him with a steely gaze and finished him off with a single line: "You, sir, are a cad." ( https://www.nytimes.com/1994/11/13/magazine/about-men-unhand... ) - Ms. Smith fixed him with…

Thank you, I respect the effort put into this. The free time and skills that I did not have.

I'm at this point more interested the Psychology of the readers who insisted "I don't know the phrase, and drew a blank, therefor it's wrong, broken, bad writing, how dare they not write for me". And refuse to listen to the contrary, indeed "refute" it (hah).

It's something - entitled? Arrogant? Leaning into ignorance? Fixed mindset? Whatever it is, it's best viewed at a distance, like car crash.

Re: The city that forgot itself

#87

Post by [deleted] »

SideburnsOfDoom wrote: post #86
gdds wrote: post #82

Earlier quoted context omitted.

(part 2/3) Examples from American newspapers: New York Times - He fixed me with a hard gaze and said: "I just gave you a $5,000 raise. Now tell me what happened." ( https://www.nytimes.com/2006/05/12/opinion/12friedman.html ) - She fixed him with a steely gaze and finished him off with a single line: "You, sir, are a cad." ( https://www.nytimes.com/1994/11/13/magazine/about-men-unhand... ) - Ms. Smith fixed him with…

Thank you, I respect the effort put into this. The free time and skills that I did not have. I'm at this point more interested the Psychology of the readers who insisted "I don't know the phrase, and drew a blank, therefor it's wrong , broken , bad writing, how dare they not write for me". And refuse to listen to the contrary, indeed "refute" it (hah). It's something - entitled? Arrogant? Leaning into ignorance? Fixe…

[deleted]

Re: The city that forgot itself

#88

Post by bmacho »

SideburnsOfDoom wrote: post #84
bmacho wrote: post #62

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't try to accomplish here anything. I expressed my opinion that I don't think that particular phrase is poetic , it is just broken without being poetic. Then people tried to prove that it is indeed an existing English idiom, which is usually very easy, they are in the dictionaries, in the books, in the articles, on the internet. Then they failed during this process, which made me more confident in my opinion. >…

> Then people tried to prove that it is indeed an existing English idiom ... Then they failed during this process, which made me more confident in my opinion. This is a very arrogant statement. ... > Okay, I can accept this. LOL. And indeed LMAO. This method is producing poor results for you, maybe re-evaluate it? https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=43358412

Whoa. I don't remeber an internet stranger making me _this_ angry in a while. IMO I made a perfectly valid argument overall, expressing my _unfamilirity_ with the usage, then meaningfully engaging with all the cited proofs, spending my time refuting them, then, when confronted with a good one, I concluded that I was indeed unfamiliar.

And after all this is over, the next day you come after me, lie, and shit talk me.

Now I am incredibly angry. Wow.

Re: The city that forgot itself

#89

Post by bmacho »

SideburnsOfDoom wrote: post #86
gdds wrote: post #82

Earlier quoted context omitted.

(part 2/3) Examples from American newspapers: New York Times - He fixed me with a hard gaze and said: "I just gave you a $5,000 raise. Now tell me what happened." ( https://www.nytimes.com/2006/05/12/opinion/12friedman.html ) - She fixed him with a steely gaze and finished him off with a single line: "You, sir, are a cad." ( https://www.nytimes.com/1994/11/13/magazine/about-men-unhand... ) - Ms. Smith fixed him with…

Thank you, I respect the effort put into this. The free time and skills that I did not have. I'm at this point more interested the Psychology of the readers who insisted "I don't know the phrase, and drew a blank, therefor it's wrong , broken , bad writing, how dare they not write for me". And refuse to listen to the contrary, indeed "refute" it (hah). It's something - entitled? Arrogant? Leaning into ignorance? Fixe…

> I'm at this more interested the Psychology of the readers

Sure.

In my head it looked like this:

   "I don't think this is an idiom" (meaning that either it is not an idiom or I am unfamiliar)
   "I am an authority on English, and it is an idiom"
   "Nah."
   "Here are the dictionaries" 
   "It is not in the dictionaries" 
   "Google it"
   "That's lazy, but sure. It is not on the internet"
   "Here, it is in a pdf used in education"
   "Fine"
I don't think that I am the arrogant or entitled one here. Also I don't understand why are you coming after me after this concluded. This, and your other comment. I very much don't like it.

Re: The city that forgot itself

#90

Post by SideburnsOfDoom »

bmacho wrote: post #88
SideburnsOfDoom wrote: post #84

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Then people tried to prove that it is indeed an existing English idiom ... Then they failed during this process, which made me more confident in my opinion. This is a very arrogant statement. ... > Okay, I can accept this. LOL. And indeed LMAO. This method is producing poor results for you, maybe re-evaluate it? https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=43358412

Whoa. I don't remeber an internet stranger making me _this_ angry in a while. IMO I made a perfectly valid argument overall, expressing my _unfamilirity_ with the usage, then meaningfully engaging with all the cited proofs, spending my time refuting them, then, when confronted with a good one, I concluded that I was indeed unfamiliar. And after all this is over, the next day you come after me, lie, and shit talk me.…

So to sum up: You are unable to admit fault, are bad at regulating emotions, and are projecting.
Post reply on HN