Dave's ESL Cafe's Student Discussion Forums

[hela]

Hello everyone,

Would you please correct the following expressions ?

1) a fresh start. If correct, what does it mean?

2) "The abtrusive / abstrusive (??) bad luck makes him feel shaken from within." What does this sentence mean? How can it be corrected?

3a) My cards make/form a sequence / series ?
b) (if they are not in order) = My cards are jumbled / I have a jumbled hand / set of cards?

4) A person with a minimum of general knowledge / common sense ?

5) to make profit of sthg = to take advantage of ?

All the best

[CP]

1. a fresh start
Correct expression. Means a new beginning, forgetting the past. May be used for lots of situations, like relationships -- a couple have problems, break up, but decide to try again -- or personal / business life. The U.S. bankruptcy laws permit the honest person or company overwhelmed with debts to seek an order of the bankruptcy court discharging (forgiving) the debts to give the debtor a fresh start.

2. The abtrusive / abstrusive bad luck
I don't think either is a real word. Maybe you heard "obtrusive bad luck," meaning bad luck that forces its way into your life, or is unpleasantly obvious.

3. My cards make/form a sequence / series ?
If your cards are all in a series, they are all in their proper order. Otherwise, they are out of order, or not in proper sequence. They could be all jumbled up, or thoroughly shuffled, which is what you want if you are going to deal them out to play a game of cards.

4. A person with a minimum of general knowledge / common sense
Not sure what you are driving at here, but to me, general knowledge and common sense are two different things. Someone who has general knowledge knows most things that most people know about the world, the culture, and so on. Someone who has common sense uses his or her head the same way you would. (We all think we have common sense, so when someone does something dumb, something we would not have done, we may say the person does not have common sense. But really, who knows what common sense really is?)

5. to make profit of sthg = to take advantage of ?
Well, could be. If you pick the flowers growing in your garden and sell them to your neighbor, you have taken advantage of having the flowers and have profited in money. You can profit from someone's advice or warning, which may also be taking advantage of what they tell you.
_________________
You live a new life for every new language you speak. -Czech proverb

[hela]

Good morning, CP

2) Would it be possible to use this expression "obtrusive bad luck" talking about a prisoner's feelings in detention ? If yes, would you please give me a sentence which could fit the context?

3) If you have a lousy hand, if you have no sequence/suit (?) and so are going to lose, would you say that your cards are all jumbled up = all in a scramble?

4a) Would you say of someone with a level head that he has common sense or a minimum amount of general knowledge = some basics ? Would he also have a particular mindset?

b) in other contexts would you say a minimum amount of knowledge or a correct amount of knowledge or something else?

All the best