question He was a fierce field contender but a lackadaisical, amused sort of student in the classrooms Jack was familiar with the type, more from his own days as a high school and college student than

Maggie

question He was a fierce field contender but a lackadaisical, amused sort of student in the classrooms Jack was familiar with the type, more from his own days as a high school and college student than from his teaching experience, which was at second hand. Question: What’s the meaning of ‘which was at second hand?’ What does ‘which’ refer to?

Sep 30, 2018 1:15 AM

Answers · 9

"At second hand" is an expression which means "received from some source other than the original" or "by hearsay rather than experiencing something yourself." In the text, "which" refers to Jack's "teaching experience." :)

September 30, 2018

It's strange. It doesn't look right to me. We don't normally say 'at' with 'second hand'. 'which' does refer to his teaching experience. It's a placeholder, to avoid repeating the phrase.

September 30, 2018

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