Tao
What does it mean for "for lack of a better way of putting it"? Here is the context: --- If you want to learn Formal Arabic (like I do)...good luck. Although most Arabic speakers will know it, they will constantly revert to their dialect without meaning to. The person I'm learning Arabic for (for lack of a better way of putting it) is Iraqi, but my instructor is Lebanese. So I get on the phone with "Guess what I learned?!" and I hear "That's not exactly right..." --- So what is the meaning of "for lack of a better way of putting it" here? Does "putting" mean to deal with / to formulate? By the way, is it correct to use "What does it mean for" and "what is the meaning of" when I ask the meaning of a sentense? Many thanks!
Oct 28, 2016 7:06 AM
Answers · 1
3
"for lack of a better way of putting it" means "I said it this way because I could not think of a better way of saying it" You are right - put here means say, formulate your words "What does [word/phrase mean?" or "What is the meaning of [word/phrase]?
October 28, 2016
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Tao
Language Skills
Chinese (Mandarin), Chinese (Cantonese), English, French, Japanese, Korean, Russian, Spanish, Vietnamese
Learning Language
Chinese (Cantonese), French, Japanese, Korean, Russian, Spanish, Vietnamese