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Discussion Groups / English Usage / November 2006Get into touch
Hello: What would be the meaning of "touch" here? Could it be "stealing" (sl.)? ----- [Winsett, a journalist, talks to Archer, a New York "Society" member and lawyer.] Winsett was not a journalist by choice. He was a pure man of letters, untimely born in a world that had no need of letters [...] "The fact is, life isn't much a fit for either of us," Winsett had once said. "I'm down and out; nothing to be done about it. I've got only one ware to produce, and there's no market for it here, and won't be in my time. But you're free and you're well-off. Why don't you get into touch? There's only one way to do it: to go into politics." Edith Wharton, Age of Innocence, p. 138 http://www.bookrags.com/ebooks/541/67.html ----- Thanks. Marius Hancu > Hello: > [quoted text clipped - 13 lines] > be in my time. But you're free and you're well-off. Why don't you > get into touch? There's only one way to do it: to go into politics." I think this is a fairly well-known meaning: something like "keep up with the times", "get up to date" - the opposite of "out of touch (with things)".  SignatureRob Bannister >> What would be the meaning of "touch" here? >> Could it be "stealing" (sl.)? [quoted text clipped - 16 lines] > with the times", "get up to date" - the opposite of "out of touch > (with things)". Yes, and I agree -- except for one thing: "get into touch" does not sound right (to these AmE ears). "Get _in_ touch" would be more idiomatic here. SignatureMaria Resident of southeast Michigan, near Detroit; native of east Tennessee. There's only one 'n' in my email address, and it's not in my first name. > >> "The fact is, life isn't much a fit for either of us," Winsett had > >> once said. "I'm down and out; nothing to be done about it. I've got [quoted text clipped - 10 lines] > sound right (to these AmE ears). "Get _in_ touch" would be more > idiomatic here. I agree. Not only that, but usually "get in touch" indicates with whom. Not clear in this context, perhaps with the electorate/general public. But you may realize that only after reading the last sentence: go into politics. Thanks you both. Marius Hancu Rugby players are sometimes 'booted into touch', but it's not a good place to be. In Britspeaking Rugby playing countries it is sometimes used metaphorically to mean "an awkward position", but that doesn't sound like the meaning implied in the OP's example, which suggests the opposite. Could it be a US sports term? > Rugby players are sometimes 'booted into touch', but it's not a good > place to be. In Britspeaking Rugby playing countries it is sometimes > used metaphorically to mean "an awkward position", but that doesn't > sound like the meaning implied in the OP's example, which suggests the > opposite. Could it be a US sports term? Well, the speaker is a journalist. It may mean "pushed into real action," as the politics might have seemed to him. Marius Hancu >>> Marius Hancu asked the meaning of "get into touch" in this quote: > [quoted text clipped - 16 lines] > > Not only that, but usually "get in touch" indicates with whom. Usually, but not always. It can also mean what Rob suggested -- get up to date, keep up. > ......Not > clear in this context, perhaps with the electorate/general public. But > you may realize that only after reading the last sentence: go into > politics. And going into politics will generally keep people aware of what's going on (politically, locally). > Thanks you both. You are very welcome. SignatureMaria There's only one 'n' in my email address, and it's not in my first name. ... } And going into politics will generally keep people aware of what's going } on (politically, locally). And how about Steny! You heard about him here first, and now everyone is going to know about him. Signaturerjv > Maria wrote: ... > } And going into politics will generally keep people aware of what's > } going on (politically, locally). > > And how about Steny! You heard about him here first, and now > everyone is going to know about him. You're right: I did first hear about Steny Hoyer in this group -- from you and, I think, TPFKARF. I was delighted to see Mr. Hoyer prevail over Nancy Polosi (sp?). (And that's all I'm going to say. Political comments from me are being phased out. Well, I'm working on it, anyway.) SignatureMaria > Polosi (sp?). Pelosi, meaning the hairy one. >> Polosi (sp?). > > Pelosi, meaning the hairy one. One? (Okay, it could be a preserved genitive singular.) SignatureSalvatore Volatile > >> Polosi (sp?). > > [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > > (Okay, it could be a preserved genitive singular.) Most family names are genitives. At any rate, the huge majority of those ending in -i. So, descending from the hairy ones. That would be more flattering to a lady, anyway. >> >> Polosi (sp?). >> > [quoted text clipped - 9 lines] > So, descending from the hairy ones. That would be more flattering to a > lady, anyway. In her case, it's married to the decendent of hairy ones. By birth, she's a descendent "of Alexander". SignatureRoland Hutchinson Will play viola da gamba for food. NB mail to my.spamtrap [at] verizon.net is heavily filtered to remove spam. If your message looks like spam I may not see it. >>> >> Polosi (sp?). >>> > [quoted text clipped - 12 lines] > In her case, it's married to the decendent of hairy ones. By birth, she's a > descendent "of Alexander". You are correct, sir. By the bye, what does "Hoyer" mean? (What does "Steny" mean, for that matter?) SignatureSalvatore Volatile > You are correct, sir. By the bye, what does "Hoyer" mean? > > (What does "Steny" mean, for that matter?) Together, they can be said to mean "teeny horsy" or "thorny eyes." See: http://www.wordsmith.org/anagram/anagram.cgi?anagram=Steny+Hoyer or http://tinyurl.com/y95e92 SignatureMaria > > You are correct, sir. By the bye, what does "Hoyer" mean? > > [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > or > http://tinyurl.com/y95e92 "Hoyer" is a brand of guitar <http://reviews.harmony-central.com/reviews/Guitar/brand/Hoyer. "Steny", as best I can learn from online translators, is Czech for "wall" or the material walls are made from. Perhaps we are dealing with a wall of guitars (a metaphorical usage, I assume). At least Steny, like Hillary or Barack but unlike, say, McCain or Edwards, can run on first name alone. SignatureBob Lieblich Steny in 2008! (Right, Sal?) Robert Lieblich filted: >At least Steny, like Hillary or Barack but unlike, say, McCain or >Edwards, can run on first name alone. I can never remember whether it's one-L Hilary who's the Senator and two-L Hillary who was Lizzie McGuire, or the other way round.... Senator Clinton might want to borrow the title of the other's concert DVD as a campaign slogan: "The Girl Can Rock"....r Signature"Keep your eye on the Bishop. I want to know when he makes his move", said the Inspector, obliquely. R.H. Draney: > I can never remember whether it's one-L Hilary who's the Senator and two-L > Hillary who was Lizzie McGuire, or the other way round.... And the three-L Hilllary that's a hellluva fire? :-) Mnemonic tip: "Capitol Hill". SignatureMark Brader, Toronto, msb@vex.net #define MSB(type) (~(((unsigned type)-1)>>1)) Mark Brader filted: >R.H. Draney: >> I can never remember whether it's one-L Hilary who's the Senator and two-L >> Hillary who was Lizzie McGuire, or the other way round.... > >And the three-L Hilllary that's a hellluva fire? :-) You betcher silk pyjama!...r Signature"Keep your eye on the Bishop. I want to know when he makes his move", said the Inspector, obliquely. ... } You are correct, sir. By the bye, what does "Hoyer" mean? Somebody that went to Georgetown, ain't? } (What does "Steny" mean, for that matter?) POTUS. Signaturerjv > >> Polosi (sp?). > > [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > > (Okay, it could be a preserved genitive singular.) Most family names are genitives. At any rate, the huge majority of those ending in -i. So, descending from the hairy one. That has the advantage of sounding a little more flattering to a lady. > > >> Polosi (sp?). > > > [quoted text clipped - 9 lines] > So, descending from the hairy one. That has the advantage of sounding a > little more flattering to a lady. Whether it's good or bad that it means "Caesar", we'll leave to the bar of history. Ob Flavours of democracy. You do know over there, I imagine, that a British-type Mr or Madam Speaker becomes party-neutral on election, so all this is particularly piquant. The only time a parliamentary Speaker votes is to break a tie, and it's always in favour of the Government, regardless of personal views. Otherwise, his loyalty is to Parliament alone, with a courteous post-Cromwellian nod to the Sovereign. SignatureMike. >Ob Flavours of democracy. You do know over there, I imagine, that a >British-type Mr or Madam Speaker becomes party-neutral on election, so >all this is particularly piquant. The only time a parliamentary Speaker >votes is to break a tie, and it's always in favour of the Government, >regardless of personal views. Otherwise, his loyalty is to Parliament >alone, with a courteous post-Cromwellian nod to the Sovereign. The historic (pre-1994) practice here was that the Speaker exercised his authority primarily behind the scenes, using his influence over the committee chairmen and (most significantly) the Rules Committee to control the agenda of the House. I believe it is still the case that the Speaker must appoint a Speaker /pro tempore/ and step down from the rostrum in order to address the House on a matter of substance. (This is not as much of a restriction as it seems, since most of the work of the House as a body is done in the grandly named Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union, and the Speaker will often appoint someone else to chair the Committee of the Whole.) It was also the tradition that the minority party would be treated fairly, and would have a reasonable opportunity to offer amendments, but even in Speaker Foley's time this had been much reduced.[1] Mrs. Pelosi has made a public commitment to return a sense of decorum and comity between the parties to the House. We'll see how she does when they start considering more-controversial legislation. (It would be hard to do worse than the outgoing Congress.) -GAWollman [1] Very few bills are ever considered in the House according to the normal House Rules. In most cases, when a bill is reported out of committee, it is sent to the Rules Committee, which decides ahead of time on which amendments may be considered, and how long the debate will last. The Rules Committee then offers (as a resolution of the House) a new House Rule specifically for that bill, which is passed by the majority. Historically, more bills were considered under "open rules", whereby any amendment that was properly introduced and germane to the bill could be considered, often under the "30 minute rule". The majority (whatever the party) doesn't like this process because the minority can use it to force members of the majority into recorded votes on controversial issues, which then become campaign ads in the next election cycle. SignatureGarrett A. Wollman | The real tragedy of human existence is not that we are wollman@csail.mit.edu| nasty by nature, but that a cruel structural asymmetry Opinions not those | grants to rare events of meanness such power to shape of MIT or CSAIL. | our history. - S.J. Gould, Ten Thousand Acts of Kindness > We'll see how she does when they > start considering more-controversial legislation. The hyphen is appreciated. SignatureMark Brader, Toronto |"--", Paul said, and then repeated it for emphasis. msb@vex.net | --Spider Robinson, "Lifehouse" >> > >> Polosi (sp?). >> > > [quoted text clipped - 19 lines] >regardless of personal views. Otherwise, his loyalty is to Parliament >alone, with a courteous post-Cromwellian nod to the Sovereign. "Always in favor of the government" wouldn't be very neutral. The convention is actually that the Speaker votes to maintain the status quo, which may involve voting for the government or against it. SignatureDon Aitken Mail to the From: address is not read. To email me, substitute "clara.co.uk" for "freeuk.com" > Ob Flavours of democracy. You do know over there, I imagine, that a > British-type Mr or Madam Speaker becomes party-neutral on election, so > all this is particularly piquant. The only time a parliamentary Speaker > votes is to break a tie, and it's always in favour of the Government, > regardless of personal views. Otherwise, his loyalty is to Parliament > alone, with a courteous post-Cromwellian nod to the Sovereign. Yeahbut our Speaker can become head of state -- is in fact only two heartbeats away from doing so. Neener-neener-neener! SignatureRoland Hutchinson Will play viola da gamba for food. NB mail to my.spamtrap [at] verizon.net is heavily filtered to remove spam. If your message looks like spam I may not see it. > > Ob Flavours of democracy. You do know over there, I imagine, that a > > British-type Mr or Madam Speaker becomes party-neutral on election, so [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > Yeahbut our Speaker can become head of state -- is in fact only two > heartbeats away from doing so. Neener-neener-neener! I was aware of that: it's part of the piquancy lacking from the Westminster model. Sorry if I misled anybody about the way a parliamentary speaker votes, though. SignatureMike. >> > Ob Flavours of democracy. You do know over there, I imagine, that a >> > British-type Mr or Madam Speaker becomes party-neutral on election, so [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] > > I was aware of that: 'Course you were. I was just rubbing it in. > it's part of the piquancy lacking from the > Westminster model. You could always try adding some HP sauce for additional piquancy. SignatureRoland Hutchinson Will play viola da gamba for food. NB mail to my.spamtrap [at] verizon.net is heavily filtered to remove spam. If your message looks like spam I may not see it. >> Ob Flavours of democracy. You do know over there, I imagine, that a >> British-type Mr or Madam Speaker becomes party-neutral on election, so [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] >Yeahbut our Speaker can become head of state -- is in fact only two >heartbeats away from doing so. Neener-neener-neener! You do not favour the current administration? Sincerely, Gene Wirchenko Computerese Irregular Verb Conjugation: I have preferences. You have biases. He/She has prejudices. >>> What would be the meaning of "touch" here? >>> Could it be "stealing" (sl.)? [quoted text clipped - 20 lines] > sound right (to these AmE ears). "Get _in_ touch" would be more > idiomatic here. I thought about that, but "get in touch" is more commonly used to mean "contact me". SignatureRob Bannister >>>> What would be the meaning of "touch" here? >>>> Could it be "stealing" (sl.)? [quoted text clipped - 23 lines] > I thought about that, but "get in touch" is more commonly used to mean > "contact me". Yes, probably more commonly, but it's also used in "get in touch with with what's going on" and "get in touch with your feelings" neither of which would use "into" rather than "in." SignatureMaria There's only one 'n' in my email address, and it's not in my first name. >> I thought about that, but "get in touch" is more commonly used to mean >> "contact me". [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > > neither of which would use "into" rather than "in." Yes, I thought about again afterwards and decided you are correct. On the whole, it's the negative versions "not in touch", "out of touch", "losing touch", etc. that seem more common. SignatureRob Bannister |
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