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hiromichi
Joined: 12 Oct 2005
Posts: 1380
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 Posted: Mon Jun 12, 2006 7:50 am Post subject: passingly |
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What is the meaning of "passingly" in a sentence below?
"Seeing as she was passingly conversant with the techniques involved in the deactivation of improvised explosive devices from watching the 'A-Team," Jen decided that she was just the person to take care of the situation in the two minutes that remained."
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ClarissaMach
Joined: 18 May 2006
Posts: 644
Location: Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
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| Posted: Mon Jun 12, 2006 10:09 am Post subject: |
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| I'd say it means "very". "She was passingly conversant" means that she was very much used to dealing with that thing. But I'm not sure. |
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CP
Joined: 12 Jun 2006
Posts: 2875
Location: California
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| Posted: Mon Jun 12, 2006 12:00 pm Post subject: |
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If someone has a passing familiarity with something, it means more a casual knowledge than an intimate or profound knowledge. I would say that if the author meant to imply that she was very knowledgeable, he or she should have said something like "expert" rather than "passingly conversant."
That said, sometimes people will use the expression to say with modesty that they actually are well versed in something. If Quinten Tarantino said, "I have a passing familiarity with film genres," he would be saying that he knows a little about the topic, when in fact he knows a great deal, as you would find out soon anyway. But in the context that you quoted, I wouldn't expect the author to affect the same modesty.
Yours truly, CP |
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hiromichi
Joined: 12 Oct 2005
Posts: 1380
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| Posted: Mon Jun 12, 2006 4:53 pm Post subject: |
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CP, I get it. Thank you very much for your clear explanation.
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