Sentence meaning - a waste of
I came across this in a novel “The fingers of my successor daily turned the handle of this door which opened now on the yellow flame of the gas-fire, pink-shaded lamps burning through the snow-grey afternoon, a waste of cretonne loose covers.”
Could anyone help clarify why “a waste of cretonne loose covers”? Covers mean curtains? The room is so well illuminated that it doesn’t need curtains?
meaning
asked 2 days ago
Emma ZhouEmma Zhou
112
add a comment |
I came across this in a novel “The fingers of my successor daily turned the handle of this door which opened now on the yellow flame of the gas-fire, pink-shaded lamps burning through the snow-grey afternoon, a waste of cretonne loose covers.”
Could anyone help clarify why “a waste of cretonne loose covers”? Covers mean curtains? The room is so well illuminated that it doesn’t need curtains?
meaning
asked 2 days ago
Emma ZhouEmma Zhou
112
add a comment |
I came across this in a novel “The fingers of my successor daily turned the handle of this door which opened now on the yellow flame of the gas-fire, pink-shaded lamps burning through the snow-grey afternoon, a waste of cretonne loose covers.”
Could anyone help clarify why “a waste of cretonne loose covers”? Covers mean curtains? The room is so well illuminated that it doesn’t need curtains?
meaning
asked 2 days ago
Emma ZhouEmma Zhou
112
I came across this in a novel “The fingers of my successor daily turned the handle of this door which opened now on the yellow flame of the gas-fire, pink-shaded lamps burning through the snow-grey afternoon, a waste of cretonne loose covers.”
Could anyone help clarify why “a waste of cretonne loose covers”? Covers mean curtains? The room is so well illuminated that it doesn’t need curtains?
meaning
meaning
asked 2 days ago
Emma ZhouEmma Zhou
112
asked 2 days ago
Emma ZhouEmma Zhou
112
asked 2 days ago
Emma ZhouEmma Zhou
112
asked 2 days ago
Emma ZhouEmma Zhou
112
asked 2 days ago
Emma ZhouEmma Zhou
112
112
add a comment |
add a comment |
1 Answer
1
active
oldest
votes
Loose covers are fitted covers for upholstered armchairs, to protect the upholstery or hide it when it is worn out. I think the author is using waste in the sense of area of barren land (see https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/waste , noun definition 3). A snowy waste is a large area of empty land covered in snow, and the room is seen as an unprofitable area covered in cretonne (furnishing fabric).
answered 2 days ago
Kate BuntingKate Bunting
6,55131518
In the US, such coverings are called slipcovers. Loose covers in the UK?
– KarlG
2 days ago
@KarlG Yes, that is what we call them.
– Kate Bunting
2 days ago
add a comment |
Your Answer
StackExchange.ready(function() {
var channelOptions = {
tags: "".split(" "),
id: "97"
};
initTagRenderer("".split(" "), "".split(" "), channelOptions);
StackExchange.using("externalEditor", function() {
// Have to fire editor after snippets, if snippets enabled
if (StackExchange.settings.snippets.snippetsEnabled) {
StackExchange.using("snippets", function() {
createEditor();
});
}
else {
createEditor();
}
});
function createEditor() {
StackExchange.prepareEditor({
heartbeatType: 'answer',
autoActivateHeartbeat: false,
convertImagesToLinks: false,
noModals: true,
showLowRepImageUploadWarning: true,
reputationToPostImages: null,
bindNavPrevention: true,
postfix: "",
imageUploader: {
brandingHtml: "Powered by u003ca class="icon-imgur-white" href="https://imgur.com/"u003eu003c/au003e",
contentPolicyHtml: "User contributions licensed under u003ca href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/"u003ecc by-sa 3.0 with attribution requiredu003c/au003e u003ca href="https://stackoverflow.com/legal/content-policy"u003e(content policy)u003c/au003e",
allowUrls: true
},
noCode: true, onDemand: true,
discardSelector: ".discard-answer"
,immediatelyShowMarkdownHelp:true
});
}
});
Sign up or log in
StackExchange.ready(function () {
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
});
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
StackExchange.ready(
function () {
StackExchange.openid.initPostLogin('.new-post-login', 'https%3a%2f%2fenglish.stackexchange.com%2fquestions%2f492009%2fsentence-meaning-a-waste-of%23new-answer', 'question_page');
}
);
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
1 Answer
1
active
oldest
votes
1 Answer
1
active
oldest
votes
active
oldest
votes
active
oldest
votes
Loose covers are fitted covers for upholstered armchairs, to protect the upholstery or hide it when it is worn out. I think the author is using waste in the sense of area of barren land (see https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/waste , noun definition 3). A snowy waste is a large area of empty land covered in snow, and the room is seen as an unprofitable area covered in cretonne (furnishing fabric).
answered 2 days ago
Kate BuntingKate Bunting
6,55131518
In the US, such coverings are called slipcovers. Loose covers in the UK?
– KarlG
2 days ago
@KarlG Yes, that is what we call them.
– Kate Bunting
2 days ago
add a comment |
Loose covers are fitted covers for upholstered armchairs, to protect the upholstery or hide it when it is worn out. I think the author is using waste in the sense of area of barren land (see https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/waste , noun definition 3). A snowy waste is a large area of empty land covered in snow, and the room is seen as an unprofitable area covered in cretonne (furnishing fabric).
answered 2 days ago
Kate BuntingKate Bunting
6,55131518
In the US, such coverings are called slipcovers. Loose covers in the UK?
– KarlG
2 days ago
@KarlG Yes, that is what we call them.
– Kate Bunting
2 days ago
add a comment |
Loose covers are fitted covers for upholstered armchairs, to protect the upholstery or hide it when it is worn out. I think the author is using waste in the sense of area of barren land (see https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/waste , noun definition 3). A snowy waste is a large area of empty land covered in snow, and the room is seen as an unprofitable area covered in cretonne (furnishing fabric).
answered 2 days ago
Kate BuntingKate Bunting
6,55131518
Loose covers are fitted covers for upholstered armchairs, to protect the upholstery or hide it when it is worn out. I think the author is using waste in the sense of area of barren land (see https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/waste , noun definition 3). A snowy waste is a large area of empty land covered in snow, and the room is seen as an unprofitable area covered in cretonne (furnishing fabric).
answered 2 days ago
Kate BuntingKate Bunting
6,55131518
answered 2 days ago
Kate BuntingKate Bunting
6,55131518
answered 2 days ago
Kate BuntingKate Bunting
6,55131518
answered 2 days ago
Kate BuntingKate Bunting
6,55131518
6,55131518
In the US, such coverings are called slipcovers. Loose covers in the UK?
– KarlG
2 days ago
@KarlG Yes, that is what we call them.
– Kate Bunting
2 days ago
add a comment |
In the US, such coverings are called slipcovers. Loose covers in the UK?
– KarlG
2 days ago
@KarlG Yes, that is what we call them.
– Kate Bunting
2 days ago
In the US, such coverings are called slipcovers. Loose covers in the UK?
– KarlG
2 days ago
In the US, such coverings are called slipcovers. Loose covers in the UK?
– KarlG
2 days ago
@KarlG Yes, that is what we call them.
– Kate Bunting
2 days ago
@KarlG Yes, that is what we call them.
– Kate Bunting
2 days ago
add a comment |
Thanks for contributing an answer to English Language & Usage Stack Exchange!
- Please be sure to answer the question. Provide details and share your research!
But avoid …
- Asking for help, clarification, or responding to other answers.
- Making statements based on opinion; back them up with references or personal experience.
To learn more, see our tips on writing great answers.
Sign up or log in
StackExchange.ready(function () {
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
});
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
StackExchange.ready(
function () {
StackExchange.openid.initPostLogin('.new-post-login', 'https%3a%2f%2fenglish.stackexchange.com%2fquestions%2f492009%2fsentence-meaning-a-waste-of%23new-answer', 'question_page');
}
);
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
Sign up or log in
StackExchange.ready(function () {
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
});
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
Sign up or log in
StackExchange.ready(function () {
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
});
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
Sign up or log in
StackExchange.ready(function () {
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
});
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
