Not P but Moby-Dick (31)

[David Morris]

Yep.

What, in this passage would cause the confusion about whether this yawning
might not be literally yawning? He is also “gape mouthed,” which is also
literally describing what is the universal position of a a yawning person’s
mouth.

🤓

On Mon, Oct 30, 2023 at 6:43 AM Mark Kohut <mark.kohut at gmail.com> wrote:

> I just saw this and think you should not doubt the dictionary
> definitions here. yawning means yawning, I would say.
>
> See if there was an etymological difference back in the day of writing it.
> OED.
>
> On Tue, Oct 24, 2023 at 5:24 AM Mike Jing <gravitys.rainbow.cn at gmail.com>
> wrote:
>
> > Out of the five existing translations I have at hand, three interpreted
> > "gaped" as "open-mouthed", which makes "open-mouthed at times" redundant,
> > while the other two interpreted it as "yawning", which doesn't seem right
> > either. As a matter of fact, even the word "yawning" that follows doesn't
> > seem to mean literally yawning, but only indicates his laid-back
> attitude.
> > Is that correct?
> >
> >
> >
> > On Tue, Oct 24, 2023 at 12:39 AM Ian Livingston <igrlivingston at gmail.com
> >
> > wrote:
> >
> > > To gape is to stare, slack jawed, as if unimpressed by the field of
> > > view—or speechlessly overwhelmed by it. One might gape with boredom or
> > > wonder. The context is pretty clear in this case.
> > >
> > > Sent from my iPhone
> > >
> > > > On Oct 23, 2023, at 8:03 PM, Mike Jing <
> gravitys.rainbow.cn at gmail.com>
> > > wrote:
> > > >
> > > > From Chapter 48:
> > > >
> > > > Besides he all the time looked so easy and indolent himself, so
> > > loungingly
> > > > managed his steering-oar, and so broadly gaped—open-mouthed at
> > times—that
> > > > the mere sight of such a yawning commander, by sheer force of
> contrast,
> > > > acted like a charm upon the crew.
> > > >
> > > > What's the difference between "gaped" and "open-mouthed" here?
> > > > --
> > > > Pynchon-L: https://waste.org/mailman/listinfo/pynchon-l
> > >
> > --
> > Pynchon-L: https://waste.org/mailman/listinfo/pynchon-l
> >
> --
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>