Thursday, 29 March 2007

Ask About English Q32: "The Scowrers"

Hi,

I dont understand what this means : "A miss is as good as a mile!"
Please can you explain it?

and: I have read the book The Valley of Fear by A.C. Doyle. There is a secret society (they are in fact Freemasons) and they terrorize a region in the U.S. They are called the Scowrers and I dont know what this word means (its origin).
Could you explain it to me?

Thank you very much.


Hi



"A miss is as good as a mile."

definition: failing to do something when you almost succeeded is no better than failing very badly.
example: "I've tried to reassure him that he only failed by three percent but the way he sees it, a miss is as good as a mile. "


A Scourer or Scowrer

definition: a immoral/dissolute young man who walks around the streets, usually as part of a gang, beating up random people, breaking windows, and generally acting like a hooligan.
The Scowrers
was the title of a play by Thomas Shadwell in 1691.

Hope this answers your question.

Matt


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