The gentleman likes people who think.:S
General / Off-Topic What does this sentence mean?
- Thread starter Ian Skippy
- Start date
It's a polite and archaic comment; today we would say "He's too idle to think it through for himself!"
o7
A polite male ends his sentience.
I would disagree and stick with my previous statement. OK, married for a while, is a little crude and so I'll put it another way. I mean, he has 'closed down'. Yes we have no idea of the context the statement was made, but if you tell someone to shut up often enough and they become depressed about this; they will just shut up, or close down. A kind of 'what is the point?' attitude. Or; I give up. That I would say is the meaning of this sentence. It is like a deliberate action.
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This forum?
Avago Earo
Banned
Sounds like someone that downed a four pack of Special Brew on the way to watch his football team play away at their rival's ground.
Is he an executioner?
It means the gentleman loses (intentionally through his actions or possibly otherwise) by whatever means (choice, excessive beer consumption, succumbing to emotion etc) the ability to think clearly.
This is the kind of thing an upper class type person would have said as a slur and probably not directly to the subject in about 1930.
In English, "to dispose of" means 2 things - "to get rid of" (its now common usage) or, confusingly, "to have at one's disposal" (a slightly older usage). "Capacity" here means "ability".
I'd hazard a guess (without context, obvs) and say it means "The gentleman has (at his disposal) the capacity to think" i.e. "The gentleman has the ability to think about stuff".
I'd hazard a guess (without context, obvs) and say it means "The gentleman has (at his disposal) the capacity to think" i.e. "The gentleman has the ability to think about stuff".
Deleted member 110222
D
It's what happens after browsing dank birb memes all night.
Ah. Yeah. It's not an old advice but rather an insult. Makes more sense. It's just a nice way of saying, "that guy is an idiot."
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Contemporaneously:
"The {sarcastically polite term for an idiot male} is operating mindlessly by willful choice."
Implication is not only that he is acting foolishly, but has done so on purpose - probably for a malign reason.
The (possibly enforced?) sarcastic respect in the sentence suggests that it was used in Parliament.
"The {sarcastically polite term for an idiot male} is operating mindlessly by willful choice."
Implication is not only that he is acting foolishly, but has done so on purpose - probably for a malign reason.
The (possibly enforced?) sarcastic respect in the sentence suggests that it was used in Parliament.
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As people have said, the sentence needs to have a context. The verb 'dispose' has numerous meanings.
On the face of it, it's suggesting that the gentleman's need or ability to think has been compromised or abandoned- hence why we have seen alcohol and women mentioned. The preposition 'of' is suggestive here, along with the noun phrase 'capacity to think'. 'Dispose of' is higher register than the phrasal verb 'get rid of' as is 'gentleman' rather than 'guy/fella' or whatever.
The gentleman doesn't dispose himself of, so no reflexive or personal intent. Something does this to him or makes him do it.
Best I can do, sleutelbos, and I have been drinking a bit this evening!
Where did you dig up the sentence?
On the face of it, it's suggesting that the gentleman's need or ability to think has been compromised or abandoned- hence why we have seen alcohol and women mentioned. The preposition 'of' is suggestive here, along with the noun phrase 'capacity to think'. 'Dispose of' is higher register than the phrasal verb 'get rid of' as is 'gentleman' rather than 'guy/fella' or whatever.
The gentleman doesn't dispose himself of, so no reflexive or personal intent. Something does this to him or makes him do it.
Best I can do, sleutelbos, and I have been drinking a bit this evening!
Where did you dig up the sentence?
You win (as long as you mean the forum in its entirety).
To provide some context, this is part of a list of abilities and skills, which itself is a part of an official Master's degree in Belgium. They indeed mean to say 'has the ability to think' but I think the majority of people would take it the other way. I know I can 'dispose of my garbage' and that 'alcohol disposes me towards singing crude songs', but I myself have never heard of 'dispose of' meaning the exact opposite of 'dispose of my garbage'. So from my perspective it appears my employer proudly proclaims they have successfully removed their student's ability to think and that anyone holding the document is an idiot, but I wanted to check as I am not a native speaker.
My take-away from the comments so far is that while arguably correct on a technical level, it may be much clearer to stop being pretentious and just say 'has the ability to think yadda yadda'.
My take-away from the comments so far is that while arguably correct on a technical level, it may be much clearer to stop being pretentious and just say 'has the ability to think yadda yadda'.
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Heh heh heh...
verminstar
Banned
A rather nice and pleasant man with a polite demeanor is actually a doctor waiting to lobotomize his patient in a cool, calm and polite way ^
probably wrong translation (a 'faux ami'). the english meaning of 'dispose' as 'getting rid of' is a corruption. it stems from latin 'disponere', literally 'to arrange', and the original meaning is apparently conserved in english dictionaries, but not used. in other romance languages it means 'to arrange' as well as 'to have', 'to count with'. so, yeah, probably a sloppy translation from french.
so they are actually requiring you to think!
what sort of funny job is that???
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Well uncle Lysan got it right, must be because i'm old and all that, there was also beer involved....
https://forums.frontier.co.uk/showt...entence-mean?p=6779114&viewfull=1#post6779114
