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liquidy fuzz

English translation: "fuzzy" environment of milk and fur

GLOSSARY ENTRY (DERIVED FROM QUESTION BELOW)
English term or phrase:liquidy fuzz
Selected answer:"fuzzy" environment of milk and fur
Entered by: Charles Davis

09:14 Oct 21, 2015
English language (monolingual) [PRO]
Art/Literary - Poetry & Literature
English term or phrase: liquidy fuzz
From a novel by Bruce Cameron: a new-born puppy describes its feelings.
_________________________
My mother was a light brown color, as were my two siblings—both sisters, both aggressively seeking to feed. When sounds began to emerge from the liquidy fuzz as distinct and identifiable, I could hear barking dogs. Lots of them.
I was back in a place of barking dogs. After a time, the din became so much a part of the background that I stopped hearing it.
While the light was still muddled and my limbs were weak, I could do nothing more than sleep and feed, but I remembered what to do, how to push forward to my mother, and bit back my impatience with how helpless I was.
_________________________

Does "liquidy fuzz" mean a kind of a distorted, buzzing sound (reminding the effect on an electric guitar)? Or does it mean something else?
For those who know Russian, here is the original question: http://www.proz.com/kudoz/5965592

Many thanks for the explanation,
Natalia
Natalie
Poland
Local time: 20:24
"fuzzy" environment of milk and fur
Explanation:
I think this is the base meaning, though not the only mean.

The world of a new-born puppy is basically its mother's body, which it spends most the time nuzzling against, and specifically, at frequent intervals, its mother's teats. The puppy has just referred to himself and his sisters aggressively seeking to feed. To me, "liquidy" must evoke his mother's milk. The primary meaning of fuzz is, I think, the usual one: short, soft fur: the fuzz of his mothers's belly, specifically.

But on top of that, "liquidy" could suggest that the puppy is still, mentally, in the womb. And I agree with Lesley that "fuzz" inevitably suggests a feeling of "fuzziness": indistinctness.

It says *from* the liquidy fuzz. I don't think this means that the sounds emanate from the liquidy fuzz; on the contrary, the puppy in in a liquidy fuzz and the sounds reach him there. I think "from" expresses the idea of sounds standing out as something distinct from the "liquidy fuzz".

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Note added at 40 mins (2015-10-21 09:54:23 GMT)
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(The puppy is not literally still in the womb, of course; he has been born and is feeding, like his sisters.)

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Note added at 40 mins (2015-10-21 09:54:45 GMT)
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Of course I meant "not the only meanING" in the first paragraph.
Selected response from:

Charles Davis
Spain
Local time: 20:24
Grading comment
Many thanks everybody!
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



SUMMARY OF ALL EXPLANATIONS PROVIDED
4 +3"fuzzy" environment of milk and fur
Charles Davis
4the environment perceived by the puppy
Terry Richards
3general state of consciousness
Lindsay Spratt
3dull background noise
Vaddy Peters
3numbing haze
BdiL


  

Answers


13 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5
general state of consciousness


Explanation:
I would say it refers to the general 'fuzzy' state of consciousness the puppy has as its senses begin to sharpen, so not just sounds, but also sight, smell etc. 'Fuzz' also makes me think of the animals' fur.

Lindsay Spratt
France
Local time: 20:24
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: English
PRO pts in category: 28
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38 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5
dull background noise


Explanation:
dull background noise heard when in his mother's womb

Vaddy Peters
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39 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +3
"fuzzy" environment of milk and fur


Explanation:
I think this is the base meaning, though not the only mean.

The world of a new-born puppy is basically its mother's body, which it spends most the time nuzzling against, and specifically, at frequent intervals, its mother's teats. The puppy has just referred to himself and his sisters aggressively seeking to feed. To me, "liquidy" must evoke his mother's milk. The primary meaning of fuzz is, I think, the usual one: short, soft fur: the fuzz of his mothers's belly, specifically.

But on top of that, "liquidy" could suggest that the puppy is still, mentally, in the womb. And I agree with Lesley that "fuzz" inevitably suggests a feeling of "fuzziness": indistinctness.

It says *from* the liquidy fuzz. I don't think this means that the sounds emanate from the liquidy fuzz; on the contrary, the puppy in in a liquidy fuzz and the sounds reach him there. I think "from" expresses the idea of sounds standing out as something distinct from the "liquidy fuzz".

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 40 mins (2015-10-21 09:54:23 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

(The puppy is not literally still in the womb, of course; he has been born and is feeding, like his sisters.)

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 40 mins (2015-10-21 09:54:45 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

Of course I meant "not the only meanING" in the first paragraph.

Charles Davis
Spain
Local time: 20:24
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: English
PRO pts in category: 236
Grading comment
Many thanks everybody!

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  B D Finch
9 mins
  -> Thanks, Barbara
agree  BdiL: I believe this is a plausible explanation. I must add that it crossed my mind as well.
1 hr
  -> Many thanks!
agree  Tina Vonhof (X)
5 hrs
  -> Thanks, Tina :)
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1 hr   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5
the environment perceived by the puppy


Explanation:
Puppies are born blind and deaf. Their eyes and ears start to function later so there will be a period when their vision is poor (liquid-like) and their hearing is vague (fuzzy).

When the puppy first hears barking, he can neither identify the sound or see where it is coming from but, eventually, he can and realises what it is.

I don't think this refers to the mother as it says "[the] sounds began to emerge from the liquidy fuzz" and the sounds do not come from the mother. If the puppy was referring to the mother, the sounds would intrude INTO the environment, not come FROM it.

Terry Richards
France
Local time: 20:24
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 4
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2 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5
numbing haze


Explanation:
Liquidy: as if it were liquid, and we can transpose it as if a liquid filled the eyes, the ears, the nose and throat, hindering a clear perception.
Fuzz: a blurred perception (effect).

I would venture to dare a "hazing haze" translation, if you know what I mean. Just for the sake of iterative reinforcement and pinpointing the full value of the phrase onto the sense of sight, it comprising (or representing) all the senses. Even the tactile one.

Evidently, it is as if the puppy were gradually surfacing from an underwater condition, where senses of a non-aquatic animal are hindered, and water slowly kept dripping off its whole body. That would (re)activate its senses to their full.

Maurizio

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Note added at 2 hrs (2015-10-21 11:55:18 GMT)
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***
I implied that in a puppy the senses are slowly rising to their full extent. Probably it'd better be expressed.

BdiL
Italy
Local time: 20:24
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: Native in ItalianItalian
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