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'in your face'

English translation: bold, eye-catching

GLOSSARY ENTRY (DERIVED FROM QUESTION BELOW)
English term or phrase:'in your face'
Selected answer:bold, eye-catching
Entered by: Adriana Esposito

09:08 Jun 22, 2004
English language (monolingual) [PRO]
Architecture
English term or phrase: 'in your face'
“We were young and it was very much an ‘in your face’ kind of building,” said the architect 20 years later.

Could somebody pls. explain the exact meaning of 'in your face' here?
TIA
Adriana Esposito
Italy
Local time: 05:22
bold, eye-catching
Explanation:
The opposite of subtle, impossible to ignore.

in-your-face [a]

1) blatantly aggressive
http://in-your-face.bluerider.com/wordsearch/in-your-face
Selected response from:

tazdog (X)
Spain
Local time: 05:22
Grading comment
Thank you very much Cindy and Rowan, and thanks also to Leslie and all the others who agreed. I apologize for grading the answer so late...
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



SUMMARY OF ALL EXPLANATIONS PROVIDED
4 +16bold, eye-catching
tazdog (X)
4 +5The architects were trying to make a statement with the building's design
Rowan Morrell
2definition: shocking and annoying in a way that is difficult to ignore
chica nueva


  

Answers


7 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +16
bold, eye-catching


Explanation:
The opposite of subtle, impossible to ignore.

in-your-face [a]

1) blatantly aggressive
http://in-your-face.bluerider.com/wordsearch/in-your-face


tazdog (X)
Spain
Local time: 05:22
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: English
PRO pts in category: 4
Grading comment
Thank you very much Cindy and Rowan, and thanks also to Leslie and all the others who agreed. I apologize for grading the answer so late...

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Stefanie Sendelbach: Big, standing out from the others,...
7 mins
agree  Rowan Morrell: Indeed, just impossible to ignore.
11 mins
agree  Vicky Papaprodromou
11 mins
agree  Judith Platter
23 mins
agree  Lucy Phillips: 'bold' rather than 'blatantly aggressive' in this context - it's sounds like something the architect was proud of having the courage to do.
31 mins
agree  vixen
43 mins
agree  Aisha Maniar: yes, but it's not necessarily "blatantly aggressive"
44 mins
agree  Julia Gal
48 mins
agree  Milena Sahakian
3 hrs
agree  mrrobkoc
3 hrs
agree  Maya Gorgoshidze
3 hrs
agree  Neil Gouw
6 hrs
agree  nlingua
8 hrs
agree  trautlady: yes, when someone is getting "in your face" this is bold.
10 hrs
agree  Jörgen Slet
11 hrs
agree  Alexandra Tussing: aggressive, for a building, might be a little much
16 hrs
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24 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +5
The architects were trying to make a statement with the building's design


Explanation:
I agree entirely with Cindy's interpretation of "in your face". However, I also think that the architect is saying that "we" (presumably he and his colleagues of 20 years ago) were trying to make a statement with their design. They wanted to declare, loudly and proudly, that they had somehow "arrived" in architecture, and the "in your face" design would be the way they were going to do it. The design may well have been quite radical for its day, and indeed, "in your face" might also mean they were thumbing their nose at the establishment a little, breaking the mould, doing something really different, that sort of thing.

Just some additional thoughts - not enough room to write all this in the little peer grade box!

Rowan Morrell
New Zealand
Local time: 15:22
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Lucy Phillips: innovation/radicalism could well be an implication in this context
13 mins
  -> Indeed it could. Thanks Lucy.
agree  Aisha Maniar
28 mins
  -> Thanks Aisha.
agree  RHELLER: like saying to society and to other architects, "is that radical enough for you?"
4 hrs
  -> Indeed - thanks Rita.
agree  Jörgen Slet
11 hrs
  -> Thanks Jörgen.
agree  Alexandra Tussing
16 hrs
  -> Thanks Alexandra.
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16 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 2/5Answerer confidence 2/5
definition: shocking and annoying in a way that is difficult to ignore


Explanation:
be in your face (slang) = to be shocking and annoying in a way that is difficult to ignore eg dance music that is aggressive, sexy and in your face


    Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary
chica nueva
Local time: 15:22
Native speaker of: English
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