Search from various Engels teachers...
Addison
What's the meaning of "hold something against someone"?
"Bernstein lost the case, but never held it against Grundy."
Britney Spears's song "hold it against me"
"If I said my heart was beating loud
If we could escape the crowd somehow
If I said I want your body now
Would you hold it against me?"
They should be different meanings, right? I'm confused a little bit.
14 jun. 2015 14:35
Antwoorden · 2
1
The lyrics of this song are a word-play : it's a kind of verbal joke based on an expression having two meanings. It's also unoriginal : there was a song released way back in 1979 which used the same word-play, entitled 'If I said you had a beautiful body, would you hold it against me?'.
If you 'hold something against someone' it can mean that you feel angry and resentful about something that they have done. So, you could say, 'If did this, would you hold it against me?', meaning 'Would you think badly of me if I did this?'
In a more literal sense, it can simply mean that you put something close to that person's body. The lyrics here mean both - it's a question about how the other person would feel if the singer said something, but it's also a flirtatious request for the other person to make physical contact. But the joke's been made before.
14 juni 2015
1
To "hold something against something" can have several meanings, as an idiom, it means to have negative feelings towards something, but as a verb (action), it means to literally hold an object against another object.
14 juni 2015
Heb je je antwoorden nog steeds niet gevonden?
Schrijf je vragen op en laat de moedertaalsprekers je helpen!
Addison
Taalvaardigheden
Arabisch, Chinees (Mandarijn), Engels, Frans, Duits, Russisch
Taal die wordt geleerd
Engels, Frans, Duits, Russisch
Artikelen die je misschien ook leuk vindt

Santa, St. Nicholas, or Father Christmas? How Christmas Varies Across English-Speaking Countries
3 likes · 0 Opmerkingen

Reflecting on Your Progress: Year-End Language Journal Prompts
2 likes · 1 Opmerkingen

Same Word, Different Meaning: American, British, and South African English
25 likes · 17 Opmerkingen
Meer artikelen
