tailback lined with festive queues.

English translation: on the next day I started to miss those endless rows of cars...

16:16 Oct 26, 2006

English language (monolingual) [PRO]
Art/Literary - Poetry & Literature

English term or phrase: tailback lined with festive queues.

But, on that soulless morning after, I longed for the tailback lined with festive queues.

Could you explain the above sentence? I regret I don't have any context to offer as I don't have the same.

Sanjiv Sadan (X) KudoZ activity Questions: 311 (1 open) (1 without valid answers) (2 closed without grading) Answers: 5
Local time: 13:07

Selected answer:on the next day I started to miss those endless rows of cars...

Explanation:
... which went along the festive queues on the streets.

I suppose it's like the author misses the crowdy atmosphere on the street the day before. There were so many people on the streets, and a long row of the cars moving slowly along the crowd, that the next morning, with its usual routine, feels like `soul-less'.

Selected response from:

Kirill Semenov
Ukraine
Local time: 10:37

Grading comment

Thanks to both of you for your wonderful help.
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer

SUMMARY OF ALL EXPLANATIONS PROVIDED

2 +3

on the next day I started to miss those endless rows of cars...

Kirill Semenov

traffic jams surrounded by rows of people at the side of the road celebrating (?)

Peter Shortall

Answers

22 mins confidence:

peer agreement (net): +3

on the next day I started to miss those endless rows of cars...

Kirill Semenov
Ukraine
Local time: 10:37
Specializes in field
Native speaker of:

Russian
PRO pts in category: 118

Grading comment

Thanks to both of you for your wonderful help.

23 mins confidence:

traffic jams surrounded by rows of people at the side of the road celebrating (?)

Explanation:
Well... I found the fragment of text you have given here:

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1973653.cms

Assuming that's where it's from (surely that means there is, at least, a little context?!), it appears that the writer is describing a scene on the day after a festival and (I think) seems disappointed that it is over.

"Tailback", as far as I know, means a traffic jam - a queue of cars. The "easy ride" next mentioned would seem to confirm this - because there is little traffic on the roads, it is easy to drive around.

The context doesn't give too much away about the "festive queues" so I can only guess what they might be, but the scene I am picturing is one where there are traffic jams on the road (presumably because it's a big celebration and people are on the move - or maybe for some other reason?) and, at the sides of the road, there are rows/lines of people (I would imagine) celebrating - but I'm not completely sure about that part.

Peter Shortall
United Kingdom
Native speaker of: English
PRO pts in category: 4

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