Dave's ESL Cafe's Student Discussion Forums

pugachevV · Joined: 16 Jan 2003 Posts: 2295

As far as the press is concerned, New Orleans is now Hurricane-Ravaged- New-Orleans. Just as Iraq is now WarTornIraq.

Blossom · Joined: 30 May 2005 Posts: 291 Location: Beijing China

I think you jave missed the point.

How can hurricane Rita poke holes in another Friday?

bud · Joined: 09 Mar 2003 Posts: 2111 Location: New Jersey, US

It's being used as a metaphor, Blossom - or probably it's more like a pun. It is grammatical, but I agree that it is a poor sentence in that it's illogical. To poke holes in something means to disprove something. How do you disprove another Friday? So probably it is intended as a pun (holes are poked in the levees on a second Friday). But it is a real stretch (= tyring too hard to make a point that just doesn't exist) and you're right that it doesn't belong in a newspaper.

Good job!

advoca · Joined: 09 Oct 2003 Posts: 422 Location: Beijing

But is this just another typo, the sort of which the Guardian is famous for. (It is often called the Guradian because of this propensity.)

Surely what the writer meant to say was:

Hurricane Rita's wind-driven storm surge topped one of New Orleans' battered levees and poked holes in another ON Friday.

In other words:

On Friday the hurricane topped a levee and it poked holes in another.

This is a good example for learners of English to study.

Cathy88 · Joined: 03 Aug 2005 Posts: 5 Location: Beijing

No, Bud. It was not intended as a metaphor or a pun. The hurricane literally poked holes in the levee, and this is what the Guardian meant to say.

But as advoca has pointed out, it poked those holes on Friday.

Soymilk · Joined: 21 Aug 2005 Posts: 50 Location: Texas, USA

Levees were used to high water out of some areas. During Hurricane Katrina, New Orleans suffered major flooding due several levee breaks. Just this friday, Hurricane Rita pummeled another hole into a levee causing parts of New Orleans to flood again. The sentence would make a bit more sense if it was written like this...

Hurricane Rita's wind-driven storm surge topped one of New Orleans' battered levees and poked holes in another levee on Friday.

I live in Houston, which was in Rita's projected path for a while. This past week has not been a very good time for any of us in the gulf area.

bud · Joined: 09 Mar 2003 Posts: 2111 Location: New Jersey, US

Well, I'm glad you're OK, Soy! I hope things get back to normal as soon as possible.

That's a good possibilty, Advoca and Cathy, but I'm not convinced. Because of the meaning of the expression, I still think that most likely there is no typo in the sentence. It makes grammatical sense without "on."

I think that it is a professional quirk that many, many reporters just love to make puns. I've noticed this in print and in TV news over the years. I still feel that that is what was intended here. But whether typo or not, I like the proposed change much better than the original!

iitimone7 · Joined: 09 Aug 2005 Posts: 400 Location: Indiana, USA

...my dad's in the middle of tx and he didn't get a drop of water! however, every hotel, every camp, every sporting dome, and shelter are full, full!! glad you're ok soymilk...i forget that you said earlier that you're from houston. i have other family in houston and corpus and i haven't heard a word from them. i have 3 cousins who work for nasa. i better check on them today!! (no news is good news?)

time for class, iitimone7

Bob S. · Joined: 29 Apr 2004 Posts: 1767 Location: So. Cal

bud · Joined: 09 Mar 2003 Posts: 2111 Location: New Jersey, US

Ah, I bet that is what the writer was going for. Nice one, Bob!