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(thymus- and acticvation-regulated chemokine)
scanning the street for heat

Glossary entry

English term or phrase:

dubious approval

English answer:

an (in-, un-) dubious approval

Added to glossary by Peter Simon
Apr 13, 2015 02:54
9 yrs ago
2 viewers *
English term

dubious approval

English Art/Literary Poetry & Literature
Across the street—not yet over the shiver, nor to the goods—a dormant construction site, populated with skeletal cranes raising adolescent towers, stands smugly, silently, an in dubious approval. It wears the green and blue hues of the night. It knows not whence it came. It will lend her the benefit of the doubt. It will accompany her on the long, hard, painful ride in a car filled with chums. Sera’s arms are weak, but her pulse is strong. She smacks shut her lips and wits for a trick.
Responses
3 +1 an (in-, un-) dubious approval
4 +1 a doubtful/ambiguous approval
3 +1 in zweifelhafter/zwielichtiger Zustimmung (alternativ: Anerkennung)
Change log

May 21, 2015 05:20: Peter Simon Created KOG entry

Votes to reclassify question as PRO/non-PRO:

Non-PRO (2): Charlesp, Yvonne Gallagher

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Responses

+1
4 hrs
Selected

an (in-, un-) dubious approval

Probably a misspelling indeed. As I see it, this phrase is the subject of the verb of the sentence, 'stands', so there could be no AND between the two. Further, the writer was being creative and tried to use the opposite of 'dubious', for which the prefix in-, or un- could be a legitimate solutions, but as such a combination does not exist in normal English, the writer created one and forgot about using a hyphen to indicate the unngrammaticality. The situation is a bit further complicated when "It will lend her the benefit of the doubt."

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Note added at 4 hrs (2015-04-13 07:24:24 GMT)
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So I feel the meaning is 'not dubious approval'.

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Note added at 6 hrs (2015-04-13 09:16:05 GMT)
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It is also not impossible that the real subject is missing from this sentence and then (and is unnecessary) it becomes "*** ... *** stands smugly, silently, in dubious approval", where the subject is not known to us and dubious means 'doubtful' (but still in approval).

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Note added at 7 hrs (2015-04-13 10:42:19 GMT)
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I'm sorry for my misunderstanding the sentence due to the lack of "and". I see now that the subject is "a dormant construction site", which "stands smugly, silently, AND in dubious approval." So Chien Nguyen was right, it was a missing 'd'.
Peer comment(s):
agree BdiL : I find your explanation plausible and fascinating, though I'd have simplified the explanation. Possibly "an in-dubious" (=undoubtedly). The asker is often misspelling her questions here and there, which is a pain. MAu
1 hr
Thanks, BdiL. I'd add that -ly doesn't work here either, the word must be an adjective, not an adverb.
neutral Nathaniel2 : actually, the book itself says "and in dubious approval"
3 hrs
Thanks, that seems to be correct. See my new note.
Something went wrong...
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer. Comment: "thank you!"
+1
13 mins

in zweifelhafter/zwielichtiger Zustimmung (alternativ: Anerkennung)

Müsste hier noch mehr zum Kontext wissen, also z. B. wo die Fahrt hingeht, wer die Protagonistin ist etc. Aber allgemein könnte man so formulieren. Das "an" sollte wohl ein "and" sein.
Peer comment(s):
agree Charlesp
1 day 14 hrs
Something went wrong...
+1
1 hr

a doubtful/ambiguous approval

I think there is a typo here" it is AND in dubious approval" not AN in dubious approval.

Someone may refer a process of approval as "dubious approval process".

This is my suggestion.
Peer comment(s):
agree Peter Simon
6 hrs
thanks
Something went wrong...
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