Wu Ting
How would you interpret “precarious business” here? “I see. Who is supplying this shocking evidence?” “Mr. Shepherd, be reasonable. You know we can’t tell you that. If we allowed all the accused to confront their accusers, we would have no informants left. It would infringe on our ability to investigate.” “Your ability to investigate. That’s the important thing.” “Correct. In this day and age, we have a duty to protect the citizen. It’s a precarious business. People have no idea, they should be very grateful. You should be grateful, Mr. Shepherd.” “It’s a difficult point you make, Mr. Myers. I felt pretty cozy here today, before you came knocking.” I got up to put more wood on the fire, a piece of cedar shingle that sent a little shower of sparks onto the floor. I dusted up the ash, no harm done. But I seemed to have gotten up the dander of Myers, as far as it went. How would you interpret “precarious business” in the last but one passage? I guess the speaker meant his job was dangerous, right? Thanks!
May 29, 2015 3:15 AM
Answers · 1
"Precarious" can mean uncertain, risky, insecure, and dependent on chance. A "precarious business" can imply that the job is dangerous, but I think here it's referring more to the fact that the job has a lot of aspects that are hard to balance. He's talking about getting information and using that information while also protecting the people that supply the information. He has a lot of things to juggle and coordinate that could come crashing down at any moment and destroy the whole business.
May 29, 2015
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