Anonymous Posted 14 years ago
Grammar
Idly
He wondered idly what would happen.
What is the meaning of "idly" in the sentence above?
What is the meaning of "idly" in the sentence above?
Top answer
for no reason at all
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Thanks, Clive. how did you know it didn't mean to "do nothing"? I had a look in the dictionary before I put my post up but I couldn't work out which meaning applied.
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He wasn't 'doing nothing'. He was wondering., which is a mental action.
Clive
Clive
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Thanks. Clive.
What about in this context? "She sat in the sun, idly sipping a cool drink."
Does it mean she sat in the sun, sipping a cool drink for no reason at all?
What about in this context? "She sat in the sun, idly sipping a cool drink."
Does it mean she sat in the sun, sipping a cool drink for no reason at all?
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That doesn't sound wrong to me.
In this case, I think there is also a suggestion of laziness/sloth.
Clive
In this case, I think there is also a suggestion of laziness/sloth.
Clive
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