Dave's ESL Cafe's Student Discussion Forums

[imchongjun]

Hi.
I came across a puzzling expressin while I was reading early twentieth century novel, and I appreciate very much if you could explain it to me.
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the little group moved up the nave, enveloped in an atmosphere of its own of which wet overcoats and umbrellas were resolvable constituents. The air in the church was raw and cold, and a smell of sodden matting drew Westray's attention to the fact that the roofs were not water-tight, and that there were pools of rain-water on the floor in many places.
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What does "of which wet overcoats and umbrellas were resolvable constituents" mean? I cannot make head or tail of this sentence.

[cgage2]

"constituent" means that these artcles belonged to the environment of this church. "Resolvable" is from the verb "to resolve" which means to solve some type of conflict. The water would evaporate and thus resolve the problem of wet umbrellas.
P.S. its heads or tails, not head or tail.
Perhaps you thought that this expression refered to the head or tail of an animal or human. Actually, it refers to the two sides of a coin. The side which often features a persons face is termed as "heads"

[CP]

I have a different interpretation on both counts.

A high-resolution telescope or scanner or what have you can "see" better than a low-resolution one, and I think that is the meaning of "resolve" in this passage. The little group is enveloped in its own atmosphere, as in a fog moving along inside the church, but one can see clearly the constituent elements (the parts that make up the atmosphere) of wet overcoats and umbrellas.

Also, "I can't make head or tail of it" is a common expression. A native speaker would not say, "I can't make heads or tails of it." However, when flipping a coin to make a decision, we call the obverse "heads" and the reverse "tails," and someone has to call it while the coin is in the air. American football games always begin with the coin toss to determine which team gets to choose whether to kick or receive the opening kickoff.
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