nauseated her (most of them) against my undeniable, if erratic, usefulness to the party Lately I’d been on fractionally better terms with Renthrette, though that wasn’t saying much, and even that limi

Brucy

nauseated her (most of them) against my undeniable, if erratic, usefulness to the party Lately I’d been on fractionally better terms with Renthrette, though that wasn’t saying much, and even that limited progress had less to do with her feeling more comfortable with me and more to do with feeling less comfortable with the mission, if you see what I mean. She had made her disdain for my moral status clear after my conciliatory words to the duke (the fact that he had been ready to execute me did not strike her as relevant) and had referred to my money-raising methods as “snakish and deceitful,” so we weren’t exactly ready for candlelit dinners, but she called me stupid less often and always seemed to be weighing the things in my character that nauseated her (most of them) against my undeniable, if erratic, usefulness to the party. what does weighing the things in my character that nauseated her (most of them) against my undeniable, if erratic, usefulness to the party. mean? could you break it down, a big thanks weighing mean considering, right?

Sep 3, 2014 2:12 AM

Answers · 3

The structure is: "weighing _____ against ______" You are right that It means considering. You are considering two things in relation to each other and trying to find a balance. In this case, she is trying to balance "the things in my character that nauseated her" with "my undeniable, if erratic, usefulness to the party." In other words, she has a conflict in her mind: on the one hand, she doesn't like this man; but on the other hand, he is useful to her. She is considering how she feels about him and trying to come to a decision. A similar example: "I am weighing my options." This is a common phrase that means I am considering all of my options and trying to decide which is the best one. "I weighed the cost of the airline ticket against my desire to see my friend in China." This means I am considering the (high) price of the airline ticket and how much I want to see my friend. If I want to see my friend very much, I will buy the ticket. If I decide I don't want to see him that much, I won't buy it. All of these examples have to do with considering options and trying to find the right balance to make a decision. I hope that helped! The passage you posted uses very difficult structures in English.

September 3, 2014

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