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a heavy-lidded something that I cannot allow myself to believe is tumescence

English translation: lustful gaze

21:17 Dec 24, 2005
English language (monolingual) [PRO]
Art/Literary - Poetry & Literature
English term or phrase: a heavy-lidded something that I cannot allow myself to believe is tumescence
the whole sentence is, "Sometimes I catch her eyeing me with a heavy-lidded something that I cannot allow myself to believe is tumescence," which occurs in the following passage:
"She perches on the chair with her leg up... I wonder if she’s aware of my gaze idly roving the shadowed, mossy places under her uplifted skirt. Sometimes I catch her eyeing me with a heavy-lidded something that I cannot allow myself to believe is tumescence. I recall those violets, and contemplate with mild unease the milk-blue backs of her knees..."

Does the author mean simply that the girl’s eyes or eyelids are swollen (there is no mention of that otherwise)? The girl is a lazy, dirty, and usually sullen teenager.
dalg?c
Local time: 03:53
Selected answer:lustful gaze
Explanation:
tumescence: readiness for sexual activity (marked especially by vascular congestion of the sex organs. Merriam-Webster's

eyeing me with a heavy-lidded something that I cannot allow myself to believe is tumescence.

I think the narrator is referring to sexual desire. The 'heavy-lidded something' is a lustful gaze.
Selected response from:

Kim Metzger
Mexico
Local time: 18:53
Grading comment
it seems that your answer seems closer to the context, thanx
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



SUMMARY OF ALL EXPLANATIONS PROVIDED
4 +7lustful gaze
Kim Metzger
4he is lustful, she is indifferent
Robert Forstag


  

Answers


10 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +7
a heavy-lidded something that i cannot allow myself to believe is tumescence
lustful gaze


Explanation:
tumescence: readiness for sexual activity (marked especially by vascular congestion of the sex organs. Merriam-Webster's

eyeing me with a heavy-lidded something that I cannot allow myself to believe is tumescence.

I think the narrator is referring to sexual desire. The 'heavy-lidded something' is a lustful gaze.


Kim Metzger
Mexico
Local time: 18:53
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 277
Grading comment
it seems that your answer seems closer to the context, thanx

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  airmailrpl: -
36 mins
agree  Michael Barnett
43 mins
agree  Gerard Burns Jr.: ...and, since he is gazing up her skirt, his 'not allowing himself to believe' may be to avoid dissapointment, or because he is both attracted and repulsed (based on the asker's description).
45 mins
agree  Romanian Translator (X)
10 hrs
agree  Ken Cox: IMO the author's leaving a bit of deduction up to the reader, but this is literature after all
19 hrs
agree  Jack Doughty
1 day 2 hrs
agree  Alfa Trans (X)
1 day 12 hrs
Login to enter a peer comment (or grade)

42 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5
a heavy-lidded something that i cannot allow myself to believe is tumescence
he is lustful, she is indifferent


Explanation:
She is indifferent to him, as indicated by the heavy-liddedness, or tumescence, of her eyes. If she were interested, she would be wide-eyed. The contrast here is stark: as he devours her with his eyes, she is completely oblivious of his interest.

It does seem, however, as if he may be tumescent....

Happy Holidays.



--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 1 hr 14 mins (2005-12-24 22:31:54 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

"Oblivious of" or, more commonly, "oblivious to".

Robert Forstag
United States
Local time: 20:53
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: English
PRO pts in category: 64

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
neutral  Gerard Burns Jr.: The narrarator does say he 'catches her eyeing him'. You may be reading her gaze correctly, but it sounds more like he is struggling with half-hoping she is interested. -I certainly wouldn't claim it was certain.
32 mins
  -> From the description, it seems as though he is fairly certain--but hoping against hope--that she is *not* interested.
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