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Shana
Hi! How to understand "in figures" in the following text? AI told me that it means "things that can be quantified, measured, or expressed numerically" in this context. "John is practical in the extreme. He has no patience with faith, an intense horror of superstition, and he scoffs openly at any talk of things not to be felt and seen and put down in figures." 😧🙏🏻 I broke the sentence like this: John scoffs any talk of thing not to be felt, not to be seen, and not to be put down in figures. So, John values things that can put down in figures? "put down" is in its basic meaning of "write down" in this context?
23 de mar. de 2025 14:06
Respuestas · 11
Hi Shana. Yes, usually put down means to insult or criticise, but here it literally means to put something down on paper/in writing. John doesn’t seem to like abstract things, but only things he can actually see written down (where I guess he thinks they are more likely to be fact or true)
23 de marzo de 2025
"scoffs AT talk of anything", figure=number
24 de marzo de 2025
He likes thinks to be explained with numbers. So if someone says taxes should be increased he would like to see the numbers/figures to explain why.
24 de marzo de 2025
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