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the sentence between ؟؟؟???T

English translation: He took advantage of his appearance ...

14:07 Feb 13, 2015
English language (monolingual) [PRO]
Art/Literary - Linguistics / Memoir
English term or phrase: the sentence between ؟؟؟???T
Sorry to put a sentence. I'm aware of Kudoz rules, but my problem is not with a term or phrase; in the sentence mentioned between question marks (؟؟؟???), I understand all words and phrases individually, but can't get the whole meaning of the sentence! The writer is Stanislaus Joyce, and it was published about 65 years ago.

"At that time Yeats was arousing great antipathy in Dublin, partly on account of his mystical neo-paganism which despite its Celtic origins was unacceptable to the good Dublin Catholics; and partly because, ؟؟؟by turning his tall, slender, dark-complexioned person to advantage, he gave the appearance of deliberately dressing the part of the poet.??? Poseur was what they called him."

Thank you.
Ahmad Hosseinzadeh
Iran
Local time: 02:00
Selected answer:He took advantage of his appearance ...
Explanation:
The author is saying that Yeats took advantage of his looks and his sense of style meant that his appearance was what people expected a romantic poet to look like. This backfired when people thought he was deliberately cultivating that appearance in a pretentious way.
Selected response from:

B D Finch
France
Local time: 00:30
Grading comment
Many thanks.
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



SUMMARY OF ALL EXPLANATIONS PROVIDED
4 +5He took advantage of his appearance ...
B D Finch
3 +3by making the most of his [appearance/looks], he gave the impression that ...
Carol Gullidge
4Yeats was not just a poet but also looked and acted the part
Yvonne Gallagher
4meaning: he liked to be taken for a poet
Maria Popiel


  

Answers


6 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5 peer agreement (net): +3
the sentence between ؟؟؟???t
by making the most of his [appearance/looks], he gave the impression that ...


Explanation:

he used his appearance to his advantage = he capitalised on his appearance (tall, slender, dark…)

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 7 mins (2015-02-13 14:14:50 GMT)
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He liked to look like a poet

Carol Gullidge
United Kingdom
Local time: 23:30
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 26
Notes to answerer
Asker: Many thanks.


Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Yvonne Gallagher: yes, was trying (vainly!) to think of word "capitalised"
2 mins
  -> thanks Gallagy!
agree  Alaa AHMED
23 mins
  -> thanks Alaa!
agree  Victoria Britten
1 hr
  -> thanks Victoria!
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8 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5
the sentence between ؟؟؟???t
Yeats was not just a poet but also looked and acted the part


Explanation:
Yeats in fact was tall, good-looking and the very image of what a poet should look like so he played up on his natural good looks

he dressed the part=he acted like a poet, dressed like one, wore his hair like one

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 12 mins (2015-02-13 14:19:14 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

Don't forget that Stanislaus Joyce already had the experience of his brother James playing up on his appearance as a writer as well (and also had to help support his brother financially)

Yvonne Gallagher
Ireland
Local time: 23:30
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 55
Notes to answerer
Asker: Many thanks.

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16 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +5
the sentence between ؟؟؟???t
He took advantage of his appearance ...


Explanation:
The author is saying that Yeats took advantage of his looks and his sense of style meant that his appearance was what people expected a romantic poet to look like. This backfired when people thought he was deliberately cultivating that appearance in a pretentious way.

B D Finch
France
Local time: 00:30
Works in field
Native speaker of: English
PRO pts in category: 40
Grading comment
Many thanks.

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Tina Vonhof (X)
1 hr
  -> Thanks Tina
agree  magdadh: Yes, exactly, and the fact that it backfired of sorts seems important too.
1 hr
  -> Thanks magdadh
agree  Maria Popiel: great explanation!
4 hrs
agree  Peter Simon
6 hrs
agree  Teresa Reinhardt
13 hrs
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19 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5
the sentence between ؟؟؟???t
meaning: he liked to be taken for a poet


Explanation:
He used his physical appearance to highlight the fact that he was a poet. He wore adequate clothes, he adopted adequate attitudes, followed certain trends and styles etc.

to dress the part - to wear clothes that suit particular circumstances or purpose.

Hope this helps!

Maria Popiel
Spain
Local time: 00:30
Native speaker of: Polish
Notes to answerer
Asker: Many thanks.


Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
neutral  B D Finch: "He liked to be taken for a poet" implies that he wasn't really a poet!// Don't beat yourself up; it's not as bad as all that!
2 hrs
  -> True, dummy me. That's what happens when you post in hurry. Thank you for adding this comment. Should I hide my answer? I don' t want to confuse anyone.// Nah, don't worry. It's good to be corrected! But anyway, your explanation is so much better.
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