Not P but Moby-Dick (66)

[Mike Jing]

I figured it out. Here "to cover" means "to aim at".

Thanks for the reply.


On Mon, Feb 5, 2024 at 11:35 AM O G <octogonalyoyo at gmail.com> wrote:

> It wouldn't be much of a covering.  Unless this thing is a weirdly thin
> whale.  Really the only way the lancer could have covered the whale would
> be if he closed one eye and raised the pointer up to the other one.  If he
> kept both eyes open surely he would have seen around it.  That wouldn't
> cover it.  The whale would be uncovered.  Unless it happens to be a weirdly
> wide spear.
>
> To be covering something the covering item has to be at least fifty percent
> covering that which is being covered.  You can't fractionally cover
> something.  That should recover it.
>
>
>
> >From Chapter 84:
>
> Handling the long lance lightly, glancing twice or thrice along its length
> to see if it be exactly straight, Stubb whistlingly gathers up the coil of
> the warp in one hand, so as to secure its free end in his grasp, leaving
> the rest unobstructed. Then holding the lance full before his waistband?s
> middle, he levels it at the whale; when, covering him with it, he steadily
> depresses the butt-end in his hand, thereby elevating the point till the
> weapon stands fairly balanced upon his palm, fifteen feet in the air. He
> minds you somewhat of a juggler, balancing a long staff on his chin.
>
> What does "holding the lance full before his waistband?s middle" mean
> exactly?
>
> And what is "covering him with it"?
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>