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Previous Thread Next Thread Print Thread distraint #117045 12/02/2003 4:50 PM Joined: Jan 2001 Posts: 13,858 wwh Carpal Tunnel wwh Carpal Tunnel Joined: Jan 2001 Posts: 13,858 "Mr Merdle's right hand was filled with the evening paper, and the evening paper was full of Mr Merdle. His wonderful enterprise, his wonderful wealth, his wonderful Bank, were the fattening food of the evening paper that night. The wonderful Bank, of which he was the chief projector, establisher, and manager, was the latest of the many Merdle wonders. So modest was Mr Merdle withal, in the midst of these splendid achievements, that he looked far more like a man in possession of his house under a distraint, than a commercial Colossus bestriding his own hearthrug, while the little ships were sailing into dinner." Webster's 1913 Dictionary Definition: \Dis*traint"\, n. [OF. destrainte distress, force.] (Law) The act or proceeding of seizing personal property by distress. --Abbott. Copy Link to Clipboard Share Post on Facebook Share Post on Twitter Re: distraint #117046 12/26/2003 4:19 PM Joined: Sep 2001 Posts: 6,296 Piedmont Region of Virginia, U... Wordwind Carpal Tunnel Wordwind Carpal Tunnel Joined: Sep 2001 Posts: 6,296 Piedmont Region of Virginia, U... Mr. Merdle is an humble oddity, Colossus that he is, isn't he? What did he end up doing in this story, wwh? Copy Link to Clipboard Share Post on Facebook Share Post on Twitter Re: distraint #117047 12/26/2003 4:39 PM Joined: Jan 2001 Posts: 13,858 wwh Carpal Tunnel wwh Carpal Tunnel Joined: Jan 2001 Posts: 13,858 He borrowed a tortoise shell penknife, and severed his jugular vein. Incidentally, though he must have had a Ponzi type of scam, he didn't have the flambouyance of a typical Ponzi. I think Dickens goofed in his portrayal of him as totally colorless, seeking no publicity. Copy Link to Clipboard Share Post on Facebook Share Post on Twitter Re: distraint #117048 12/26/2003 5:50 PM Joined: Sep 2001 Posts: 6,296 Piedmont Region of Virginia, U... Wordwind Carpal Tunnel Wordwind Carpal Tunnel Joined: Sep 2001 Posts: 6,296 Piedmont Region of Virginia, U... He's complex, isn't he? I suppose I'd have to read the book to see what else there is about this Richard Cory sort of character... Copy Link to Clipboard Share Post on Facebook Share Post on Twitter Re: distraint #117049 12/26/2003 6:21 PM Joined: Jan 2001 Posts: 13,858 wwh Carpal Tunnel wwh Carpal Tunnel Joined: Jan 2001 Posts: 13,858 Dickens makes only a straw man out of him, just to make the plot possible. To me that part of the plot just doesn't gel. It is from Little Dorrit. And I'll bet few of us could really believe that Little Dorrit could be so completely devoted to her father. Copy Link to Clipboard Share Post on Facebook Share Post on Twitter Moderated by  Jackie  Hop To General Topics ------  Information and announcements  Q&A about words  Wordplay and fun  Words and languages in schools  Miscellany  Weekly Themes  Looking for (writers, speakers,... (Old) Weekly themes. (have been... ------  Words from medicine  Beheading words  Meta-words  Words from classical mythology  Animal Safari  Words with unusual etymologies  Eponyms or words derived from p...  Loanwords from German  English as a global language Print Thread Switch to Threaded Mode Show Likes Link Copied to Clipboard View Profile Private Message Follow User Forum Posts Like Summary View Profile Private Message Follow User Forum Posts Like Summary View Profile Private Message Follow User Forum Posts Like Summary View Profile Private Message Follow User Forum Posts Like Summary View Profile Private Message Follow User Forum Posts Like Summary

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