re: but that was it

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Masa - 27 Jul 2009 23:45 GMT

Let me ask a question about the meaning of "that was it" in the
following sentences from a novel.

Khamel had been trained to welcome death. He had been close to it many
times, but never
afraid of it. ..... He got somewhat excited about sex, but that
was it.
(The Pelican Brief, p228,by J.Grisham)

context: Khamael is a legendary assasin, spending a well-disciplined
life.
But maybe he has come to know the pleasure of sex recently.

qeusiton: is about "that was it"
This phrase "that's it" or "that was it" is often often seen, but
dictionaries don't list
understanble explanations for what it means.
In the sentence raised above, what I guess it means is that "He got
somewhat excited about sex, but
its pleasure is of a temporary nature, different from what he feels in
doing killings, that's
a real excitement.

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John Dean - 28 Jul 2009 00:39 GMT

> Let me ask a question about the meaning of "that was it" in the
> following sentences from a novel.
[quoted text clipped - 18 lines]
> doing killings, that's
> a real excitement.

Nothing in the passage you quote says he gets excited about killing.
I see two possible meanings:

1) he got *somewhat* excited about sex but not more than somewhat. That was
as far as it went.
2) there was one thing he got a little excited about and that was sex but
that was the only thing.

In the first case, there may be other things that excite him: the statement
doesn't mention them and just measures the degree to which sex excites him.
In the second case, sex is the *only* thing that excites him, but that only
up to a point.

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John Dean
Oxford

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R H Draney - 28 Jul 2009 03:32 GMT

John Dean filted:

>> Let me ask a question about the meaning of "that was it" in the
>> following sentences from a novel.
[quoted text clipped - 16 lines]
>In the second case, sex is the *only* thing that excites him, but that only
>up to a point.

This is the second time in just over a week that Masa has posted an utterly
ambiguous Grisham quote (cf. "dessert, a portion of the meal Callahan preferred
to drink")...if I could be convinced that he does this on purpose I'd applaud
his technique....r

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A pessimist sees the glass as half empty.
An optometrist asks whether you see the glass
more full like this?...or like this?

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Jerry Friedman - 28 Jul 2009 02:43 GMT

> Let me ask a question about the meaning of "that was it" in the
> following sentences from a novel.
>
> Khamel had been trained to welcome death. He had been close to it many
> times, but never afraid of it. .....

And after thirty years of expecting it, nothing, absolutely nothing,
made him tense.

> He got somewhat excited about sex, but that was it.
> (The Pelican Brief, p228,by J.Grisham)
[quoted text clipped - 7 lines]
> dictionaries don't list
> understanble explanations for what it means.

It means there was nothing more, that was the only thing, or those
were the only things. Of course, the meaning of such statements
depends on the subject being discussed.

> In the sentence raised above, what I guess it means is that "He got
> somewhat excited about sex, but
> its pleasure is of a temporary nature, different from what he feels in
> doing killings, that's a real excitement.

The sentence you left out is an important part of the context.
Nothing makes him tense, except the mild excitement he gets from sex.
That's it--in other words, sex is the only exception. He definitely
does /not/ get excited about killing.

--
Jerry Friedman

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Discussion Groups / English Usage / July 2009

re: but that was it