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datahog
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I'm having a small dispute with my co-author in regard to a novel that's appeared here, a thriller called "Frame-Up." Would you interpret the following number, as delivered in dialog by Homicide Detective Ortiz, as a statistic or as another way of saying "There are a lot of random acts of violence in the city." Literally or figuratively, in other words? “More likely,” Ortiz said, “Ms. Mandelbaum’s beating was just another random act of violence in the city. Random act number nine hundred and sixty-one for the year.”The more votes the merrier! 
This post was last edited by datahog, 10 Sep 2008, 15:54
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slavandria
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I interpret this as a statement of fact. "A gazillionth" would be figuratively speaking, but 961 seems exact. However, that's a lot of random acts of violence. I'm glad I don't live there! And what makes an act "random" and not deliberate?
Jen "There are books of which the backs and covers are by far the best parts." Charles Dickens
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PaulE
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Life's random. Planning's just something people do to pretend that it isn't.
A sparrow farts in Irkutsk and a kiddies balloon is ripped from his hand by a sudden gust of wind in Basingstoke - Unconnected? - Maybe? - Maybe Not?
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PaulE
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Sorry - Literal . Too specific to be figurative. God, it's quiet here today. 
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Assignment Robot
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Some MB access problems have been reported. We have our paw on the pulse though and are working on this.
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Chuck Buckner
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Since "random acts" are being discussed, I'd take it figuratively and the speaker being sarcastic. Counting of "random acts' could probably never be that precise. What's a random act?
I just sit down and write. William Carlos Williams The unflattering reviews are painful for short periods of time; the badly written ones are deeply, deeply insulting. That reviewer took no time to really read the book. Toni Morrison
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FLASHECHOES
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My first reaction was that it is a quip between colleagues.
However, the setting is influential. If the dialogue exchange occurred while Ortez was going through case files/police stats, then it would come across to me as probably fact.
Cheers, Flash
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datahog
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Quote: FLASHECHOES, Wednesday, 10 Sep 2008 18:05My first reaction was that it is a quip between colleagues. However, the setting is influential. If the dialogue exchange occurred while Ortez was going through case files/police stats, then it would come across to me as probably fact. Cheers, Flash There's no unusual context here. Just a conversation in a hospital.
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madridhibs
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Figurative, she says after thinking about it 782 times
Find out what life's really like in Spain. Please visit my blog: Tales from La Terraza
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Literal or figurative?
10 Sep 2008, 15:53
