protagonist, cave, burble (TALK), swash

'The Possession of Mr. Cave'

By MATT HAIG
Reviewed by VICTORIA REDEL

After his son’s death, the widower protagonist of this chilling cautionary novel begins to cling too fiercely to his beautiful teenage daughter.

He once told an interviewer that he had received a sweet letter from a cancer patient in New York who wanted very much to believe that Nicholas, the protagonist of "The Magus," was reunited with his girlfriend at the end of the book - a point Mr. Fowles had deliberately left ambiguous. "Yes, of course they were," Mr. Fowles replied.
By chance, he had received a letter the same day from an irate reader taking issue with the ending of "The Magus." "Why can't you say what you mean, and for God's sake, what happened in the end?" the reader asked. Mr. Fowles said he found the letter "horrid" but had the last laugh, supplying an alternative ending to punish the correspondent: "They never saw each other again."


“THIS is the best night of my life!” burbled Rory as he was swashed in an inner tube around the whirlpool section of the outdoor hot pools at Inspa World.

burble (TALK)
verb [I or T]
to talk about something continuously and in an unclear way:
She was burbling (on) about what she'd do if she won the lottery.

swash

(swŏsh, swôsh) 
n.

1. 1. A splash of water or other liquid hitting a solid surface.
   2. The sound of such a splash.
2. 1. A narrow channel through which tides flow.
   2. A bar over which waves wash freely.
3. See uprush.
4. 1. Swagger or bluster.
   2. A swaggering or blustering person.

v., swashed, swash·ing, swash·es. v.intr.

1. To strike, move, or wash with a splashing sound.
2. To swagger.

v.tr.

1. To splash (a liquid).
2. To splash a liquid against.

[Probably imitative.]

Cave
不知是否影射柏拉圖之洞穴寓言

pro・tag・o・nist









━━ n. （the ～） （劇・小説などの）主人公; 首唱者.






The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2007. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.

protagonist

(prō-tăg'ə-nĭst)

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n.

1. The main character in a drama or other literary work.
2. In ancient Greek drama, the first actor to engage in dialogue with the chorus, in later dramas playing the main character and some minor characters as well.
3. 1. A leading or principal figure.
   2. The leader of a cause; a champion.
4. Usage Problem. A proponent; an advocate.

[Greek prōtagōnistēs : prōto-, proto- + agōnistēs, actor, combatant (from agōnizesthai, to contend, from agōn, contest, from agein, to drive, lead).]

USAGE NOTE The protagonist of a Greek drama was its leading actor; therefore, there could be only one in a play. The question for speakers of modern English is whether a drama can have more than one protagonist.

When members of the Usage Panel were asked “How many protagonists are there in Othello?” the great majority answered “One” and offered substitutes such as antagonist, villain, principal, and deuteragonist to describe Desdemona and Iago.

Nevertheless, the word has been used in the plural to mean “important actors” or “principal characters” since at least 1671 when John Dryden wrote “Tis charg'd upon me that I make debauch'd persons … my protagonists, or the chief persons of the drama.”

Some writers may prefer to confine their use of protagonist to refer to a single actor or chief participant, but it is pointless to insist that the broader use is wrong. •

The use of protagonist to refer to a proponent has become common only in the 20th century and may have been influenced by a misconception that the first syllable of the word represents the prefix pro–, “favoring.” In sentences such as He was an early protagonist of nuclear power, this use is likely to strike many readers as an error and can usually be replaced by advocate or proponent.