Waugh: It seems a lap to me

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Marius Hancu - 01 Jan 2010 20:51 GMT

Hello:

"It seems a lap to me"
does it mean
"great/lucky find?"
BrE only?

-----
[The Ryders are talking about their quarters on the ship.]

'My maid's unpacking; she's been so disagreeable ever since we left
England. She's complaining about my cabin. I can't think why. It seems
a lap to me.

Evelyn Waugh, Brideshead Revisited, p. 801
----
--
Thanks.
Marius Hancu

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contrex - 01 Jan 2010 20:56 GMT

A lap is a comfortable and restful place. As a child, ones mother's
lap most of all.

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Marius Hancu - 01 Jan 2010 21:14 GMT

> A lap is a comfortable and restful place. As a child, ones mother's
> lap most of all.

Ah, yes.

Thank you.
Marius Hancu

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Peter Duncanson (BrE) - 01 Jan 2010 21:34 GMT

>Hello:
>
[quoted text clipped - 12 lines]
>Evelyn Waugh, Brideshead Revisited, p. 801
>----

For me it evokes the phrase "the lap of luxury".
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/the+lap+of+luxury

the lap of luxury : an environment of great ease, comfort, and
wealth

Signature

Peter Duncanson, UK
(in alt.usage.english)

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John Dean - 02 Jan 2010 00:00 GMT

>> Hello:
>>
[quoted text clipped - 18 lines]
> the lap of luxury : an environment of great ease, comfort, and
> wealth

Indeed. Although I've never heard *a* lap of luxury, only *the* lap.

Signature

John Dean
Oxford

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Marius Hancu - 02 Jan 2010 12:11 GMT

On Jan 1, 4:34 pm, "Peter Duncanson (BrE)" <m...@peterduncanson.net>
wrote:

> >"It seems a lap to me"
> >does it mean
[quoted text clipped - 15 lines]
> the lap of luxury : an environment of great ease, comfort, and
> wealth

OK, this I've heard.

Thanks.
Marius Hancu

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Discussion Groups / English Usage / January 2010

Waugh: It seems a lap to me