Min
What is the meaning of this sentence? I encounter a sentence that I can't find a proper explanation via word definition. Here is the sentence, "Stung in the past by criticism of bungling that allowed fires to spread when they might have been contained, personnel are meeting the peculiar challenges of neighborhood --- and canyon --- hopping fires better than previously, observers say." What does "hop" mean here? I assume it is like "extinguish" or "put out", but when I looked up the dictionary, there was no definition like that. So I was wondering what was the proper meaning here for "hop"? Thanks!
Oct 29, 2017 10:23 AM
Answers · 6
2
Think about the literal sense of the word "Hop" 1) when used of a person " move by jumping on one foot." and also the definition can be "pass quickly from one place to another" What the fire is doing when it is "hopping" is jumping over something. The example given is a canyon. Fires can also "hop" over rivers and "firebreaks". So the fire is on one side of a river and it would not be expected to spread to the other side but "hops" over as if the river did not exist. Hope this is clear
October 29, 2017
I'm not sure to be honest however I've wondering if it's talking about hopping in front of - like getting ahead of the fire?
October 29, 2017
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