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light-hearted conversational senteces among boys

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tonbei - 21 May 2009 16:55 GMT
The following is a sentences from a novel.
Let me ask you a quesiton about what are meant by them.

Maybe you could use that dog to get Hammer and Brazil at the same
time. What you wanna bet
Brazil knew Popeye and don't like it none, either, that the dog
disappeared, huh?"
(Isle of Dogs, p131, by P.Cornwell)

Context: This is from the conversation by a street-gang of young boys
who have kidnapped(or dognapped)
Popeye, a dog possessed by Hammer,superintendet of the police. Brazil
is an officer who works for Hammer.
The boss of the members have a strong grudge against Hammer and
Brasil.
The sentences quoted above is being said by a member to the boss.

Question: about meaning of "What you wanna bet
Brazil knew Popeye and don't like it none, either, that the dog
disappeared, huh?"

What I interpreted is as follows:
Do you believe that Brazil knows  Popeye's gone from Hammer's place?

I'm not quite certain of the meaning of "don't like it none, either"
here.
Who don't like it none, either?  or What doesn't he like none,
either?

I'd appreciate it if you give me any hint to get its right meaning.
Evan Kirshenbaum - 21 May 2009 17:15 GMT
> The following is a sentences from a novel.
> Let me ask you a quesiton about what are meant by them.
[quoted text clipped - 22 lines]
>
> I'd appreciate it if you give me any hint to get its right meaning.

It's Hammer's dog, and so Hammer is upset that the dog was taken.  The
speaker is saying that it's likely that Brazil also knew the dog and
was also upset that it was taken, and so the theft (or possibly what
they do with the dog) could be used to hurt both of them.

To understand it, take out the "either":

   Brazil ... didn't like it none ... that the dog disappeared.

where "didn't like it none" would be more standardly "didn't like it
at all".  The "either" says that Brazil's not liking it was in
addition to Hammer's not liking it.

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Don Phillipson - 21 May 2009 21:25 GMT
> Context: This is from the conversation by a street-gang of young boys
> who have kidnapped(or dognapped) . . .

I do not know Ms. Cornwell's novels, but the conversation of
young boys is never "light-hearted:"  it is usually passionately
earnest and competitive.

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Don Phillipson
Carlsbad Springs
(Ottawa, Canada)

info@trapeze7.com - 22 May 2009 01:06 GMT
> I do not know Ms. Cornwell's novels, but the conversation of
> young boys is never "light-hearted:"  it is usually passionately
> earnest and competitive.

You 've made an error of over-generalization about the conversation by
young boys.
The description of "light-hearted" just apply to that by young boys in
the story, not beyond it.
 
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