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in the slivered heart of the half second...

English translation: in the heart of that very small moment (a small slice of a second)


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GLOSSARY ENTRY (DERIVED FROM QUESTION BELOW)
English term or phrase:in the slivered heart of the half second...
English translation:in the heart of that very small moment (a small slice of a second)
Entered by: Stephanie Ezrol
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11:40 Nov 15, 2010
English to English translations [PRO]
Art/Literary - Art, Arts & Crafts, Painting / literature
English term or phrase: in the slivered heart of the half second...
The whole sentence like this:" They are two real bodies in a room. This is how she feels them, in the slivered heart of the half second it takes to edge around the doorpost, with hands that touch and rub and mouths that open slowly."

How can I understand " in the slivered heart of the half second it takes to edge around the doorpost,..."?

I'll very appreciate if someone will help me with the phrase.
macky
Local time: 03:50
in the heart of that very small moment (a small slice of a second)
Explanation:
To understand the sentence it is probably best to take it apart. First sliver, the verb is the act of creating the sliver, or very small slice.

The author is referring to a:

a slivered half second -- a slivered piece of a half second - a sliver type slice of a half second.

And the character's feeling occurrs in the "heart" or center of that moment in time.

The author is using heart as here defined by the webster online dictionary:

a : the central or innermost part : center
b : the essential or most vital part of something
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/heart
Selected response from:

Stephanie Ezrol
United States
Local time: 15:50
Grading comment
Thank you for help! really!
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



Summary of answers provided
4 +2in the heart of that very small moment (a small slice of a second)
Stephanie Ezrol


Discussion entries: 1





  

Answers


35 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +2
in the heart of that very small moment (a small slice of a second)


Explanation:
To understand the sentence it is probably best to take it apart. First sliver, the verb is the act of creating the sliver, or very small slice.

The author is referring to a:

a slivered half second -- a slivered piece of a half second - a sliver type slice of a half second.

And the character's feeling occurrs in the "heart" or center of that moment in time.

The author is using heart as here defined by the webster online dictionary:

a : the central or innermost part : center
b : the essential or most vital part of something
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/heart

Stephanie Ezrol
United States
Local time: 15:50
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 27
Grading comment
Thank you for help! really!

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Allison Wright: Stephanie has broken the phrase down nicely. Is the character about to discover something shocking (a cheating spouse, perhaps?)
4 hrs
  -> Thanks Allison. This is from the Body Artist which has its own rather difficult style at first viewing
agree  Tina Vonhof: but I think there may also be something to Lisa's suggestion, that it is also a hint to of the person's own broken heart: it only takes half a second to see something that breaks your heart. These double meanings are quite common in poetry.
1 day5 hrs
  -> Thanks Tina. Much of this story does deal with the main character's broken heart in a sense, and the writing is rich in double meanings
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Changes made by editors
Nov 20, 2010 - Changes made by Stephanie Ezrol:
Created KOG entryKudoZ term => KOG term


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