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... to be rejected like a girl at a dance sitting alone near the punch bowl?

English translation: No one is interested in her

GLOSSARY ENTRY (DERIVED FROM QUESTION BELOW)
English term or phrase:... to be rejected like a girl at a dance sitting alone near the punch bowl?
Selected answer:No one is interested in her
Entered by: Omid Moinfar

10:20 Dec 2, 2022
English language (monolingual) [PRO]
General / Conversation / Greetings / Letters / the author-editor relationship
English term or phrase: ... to be rejected like a girl at a dance sitting alone near the punch bowl?
I cannot grasp the imagery provided in the last sentence of the text below.
Please elaborate on it.
If you want to put it in a non-simile style, how would you phrase it?


Another writer weighed in that she couldn’t stand it when rejection letters said “I just didn’t love it,” “I didn’t fall in love,” or “Alas, I wanted to love this . . .” The woman looked wounded and irritated at the same time: “Why can’t they just say no instead of bringing love into it?” What’s love got to do with it? I saw her point. To the writer it sounds disingenuous and weirdly upbeat. More, wouldn’t it be better to be rejected on practical terms than to be rejected like a girl at a dance sitting alone near the punch bowl?
Omid Moinfar
Iran
No one is interested in her
Explanation:
Or in asking her to dance. So all she can do is drink punch...maybe she hopes that's a good place to sit as many people will come over to fill their glasses there. Or maybe she is drowning her Sorrows by drinking.

However, it seems no one is interested in her so she is what is metaphorically called a wallflower,, left to sit alone and no one interested in heri.
Probably looking rather unhappy about it. And maybe the reason no one is asking her to dance. Or maybe she just isn't very attractive or good looking in the first place...

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Note added at 10 days (2022-12-12 10:57:26 GMT) Post-grading
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glad to have helped
Selected response from:

Yvonne Gallagher
Ireland
Local time: 16:28
Grading comment
Thank you for being so helpful!
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



SUMMARY OF ALL EXPLANATIONS PROVIDED
4 +4No one is interested in her
Yvonne Gallagher
5to be rejected by default.
Gabriel Lins e Silva Dutra
4... to be pitifully rejected?
Kauê Oliveira
4To be rejected out of lack of love
Mihaela C N Plamadeala
3to be rejected over and over again without reason
Mihaela C N Plamadeala


Discussion entries: 1





  

Answers


1 hr   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5
... to be pitifully rejected?


Explanation:
The last sentence evokes the imagery of a pitiful rejection (which brings "love" or feelings to the scene) against more practical ways of doing so. I think that "pitifully" or something similar is fitting.

Kauê Oliveira
Brazil
Local time: 12:28
Native speaker of: Native in PortuguesePortuguese

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
neutral  Gabriel Lins e Silva Dutra: It keeps style and intention, but doesn't convey the same meaning
2 hrs
neutral  Yvonne Gallagher: You haven't really explained the phrase asked
22 hrs
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3 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 5/5
to be rejected by default.


Explanation:
The expression 'by default' conveys the meaning 'caused by lack of action or opposing force', so one could say it's a 100% equivalence

Example sentence(s):
  • to be rejected by default.

    https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/by-default
    https://www.macmillandictionary.com/us/dictionary/american/by-default
Gabriel Lins e Silva Dutra
Brazil
Local time: 12:28
Native speaker of: Portuguese
Notes to answerer
Asker: Thanks for your input.


Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
neutral  writeaway: 100% sure this is the right explanation? I'm not so sure
1 hr
neutral  AllegroTrans: I cannot see what "default" has to do with this
4 hrs
neutral  Yvonne Gallagher: Really a disagree. Nothing to do with "default"
20 hrs
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3 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5
To be rejected out of lack of love


Explanation:
I googled this book to read more, and the way I see it is: an editor must feel something for a book, he must fall in love with it because the readers will fall in love ,too. The metaphor of the lonely girl is for the writer being rejected not for practical reasons , but for the impractical reasons of having failed to evoke emotion and make the editor fall in love with the book

Mihaela C N Plamadeala
United Kingdom
Local time: 16:28
Works in field
Native speaker of: Native in RomanianRomanian
PRO pts in category: 16
Notes to answerer
Asker: Thanks for your input.


Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
neutral  AllegroTrans: I think you're overinterpreting this
4 hrs
neutral  Yvonne Gallagher: You haven't explained the phrase asked
20 hrs
  -> Ok, let ne rephrase: to be rejected over and over again without reason
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1 day 1 hr   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5
to be rejected over and over again without reason


Explanation:
Thank you all for your comments, they made me think and this might be the right interpretation.

Mihaela C N Plamadeala
United Kingdom
Local time: 16:28
Works in field
Native speaker of: Native in RomanianRomanian
PRO pts in category: 16
Login to enter a peer comment (or grade)

26 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +4
No one is interested in her


Explanation:
Or in asking her to dance. So all she can do is drink punch...maybe she hopes that's a good place to sit as many people will come over to fill their glasses there. Or maybe she is drowning her Sorrows by drinking.

However, it seems no one is interested in her so she is what is metaphorically called a wallflower,, left to sit alone and no one interested in heri.
Probably looking rather unhappy about it. And maybe the reason no one is asking her to dance. Or maybe she just isn't very attractive or good looking in the first place...

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 10 days (2022-12-12 10:57:26 GMT) Post-grading
--------------------------------------------------

glad to have helped

Yvonne Gallagher
Ireland
Local time: 16:28
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 659
Grading comment
Thank you for being so helpful!

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Tony M: Yes... despite finding a prime plae to sit, where she is bound to be seen by everyone. Makes the rejection all the more personal, than say if she were sitting in a dark corner hidden behind a pillar.
2 hrs
  -> Thanks Tony. Indeed! She's making her rejection blatantly obvious... Poor girl!
agree  writeaway: Typical wallflower story
4 hrs
  -> Many thanks:-)
agree  AllegroTrans: per TM
7 hrs
  -> Many thanks
agree  Lisa Hayden
8 hrs
  -> Many thanks
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