Newguest Posted 17 years ago
Vocabulary
Hemmed in/crank
Hi guys!
There is a song by U2 - "The Fly"
The Fly is a song in which a guy calls from Hell and starts talking about different things. Bono, who sang this song, did it in character, he pretended to be that person who was calling.
And he [Bono] said: I started to realize that rather cracked character could say things that I couldn't, because I was GETTING HEMMED IN AS BONO, EARNEST YOUNG MAN. IT WAS THE SHAKESPEAREAN IDEA OF THE FOOL THAT I PLAYED WITH IN MY TEENAGE YEARS. NOW I KNEW ENOUGH TO BE SERIOUS ABOUT IT. The way I saw The Fly was like a CRANK CALL from Hell...but the guy likes it there.
1. What does he mean by "hemmed in"? I looked this word up in a dictionary, but still I'm not sure I get it. However "earnest" suggests that he was a serious guy probably?
2. As for "crank" I know it can mean either "weird" or someone who is a grouch. Which do you think fits here better? The telephone call from Hell was strange/bizarre or the guy who spoke on the phone was a grouch???
There is a song by U2 - "The Fly"
The Fly is a song in which a guy calls from Hell and starts talking about different things. Bono, who sang this song, did it in character, he pretended to be that person who was calling.
And he [Bono] said: I started to realize that rather cracked character could say things that I couldn't, because I was GETTING HEMMED IN AS BONO, EARNEST YOUNG MAN. IT WAS THE SHAKESPEAREAN IDEA OF THE FOOL THAT I PLAYED WITH IN MY TEENAGE YEARS. NOW I KNEW ENOUGH TO BE SERIOUS ABOUT IT. The way I saw The Fly was like a CRANK CALL from Hell...but the guy likes it there.
1. What does he mean by "hemmed in"? I looked this word up in a dictionary, but still I'm not sure I get it. However "earnest" suggests that he was a serious guy probably?
2. As for "crank" I know it can mean either "weird" or someone who is a grouch. Which do you think fits here better? The telephone call from Hell was strange/bizarre or the guy who spoke on the phone was a grouch???
Top answer
Bono is known as a serious (earnest) man so he enjoyed using this other character to say things he wouldn't normally say. Crank call = a joke/hoax phone call.
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'hemmed in' = restricted, constrained...Bono is known as a serious (earnest) man so he enjoyed using this other character to say things he wouldn't normally say.
Crank call = a joke/hoax phone call.
Crank call = a joke/hoax phone call.
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