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with a patience that at first terrified and then bored

English translation: grammatically it is correct

08:47 Oct 8, 2019
English language (monolingual) [Non-PRO]
Art/Literary - Poetry & Literature
English term or phrase: with a patience that at first terrified and then bored
Context:
No enchanter’s circle, no mystic’s mandala was ever drawn with such painfully meticulous care as the conclusions being played out on the floor. Hour after hour it went on, *with a patience that at first terrified and then bored*. It was the warfare of clerks, and it harried the enemy through many columns and files. Moist could read words that weren’t there but the clerks found the numbers that weren’t there, or were there twice, or were there but going the wrong way. They didn’t hurry. Peel away the lies, and the truth would emerge, naked and ashamed and with nowhere else to hide.

More context, please click:
https://archive.org/stream/TheNewDiscworldCompanion/Book 33 ...
--quoted from Going Postal (2004, fantasy fiction) by Terry Pratchett

I’m confused by it's grammar. It seems something is omitted in this sentence.
Thank you!
updownK
China
Local time: 19:07
Selected answer:grammatically it is correct
Explanation:
I think grammatically it is correct.

My Explanation:
The clerical process is tedious and is slow and the amount of work that they were facing was overwhelming. That is why the author explains it as “terrified” at first, but once you delve into the clerical work you get used to it and it becomes boring because it is a repetitive work now.
Selected response from:

AJ Ablooglu
Türkiye
Local time: 07:07
Grading comment
Thank you!
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



SUMMARY OF ALL EXPLANATIONS PROVIDED
4grammatically it is correct
AJ Ablooglu
4 -2Immense patience..immeasurable patience
Roberta Broccoletti


Discussion entries: 3





  

Answers


20 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5
grammatically it is correct


Explanation:
I think grammatically it is correct.

My Explanation:
The clerical process is tedious and is slow and the amount of work that they were facing was overwhelming. That is why the author explains it as “terrified” at first, but once you delve into the clerical work you get used to it and it becomes boring because it is a repetitive work now.

AJ Ablooglu
Türkiye
Local time: 07:07
Native speaker of: Native in TurkishTurkish
Grading comment
Thank you!

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
neutral  Mark Robertson: It is the observer that is first terrified and then bored, not the clerks..
25 mins
neutral  B D Finch: Yes, it is grammatically correct, but Mark's comment is also correct; it is the observer who is first terrified, then bored, not the clerks.
52 mins
neutral  Yvonne Gallagher: yes, with Mark: it's the observer who is terrified then bored
1 hr
neutral  Charlotte Fleming: Agree with Mark.
4 hrs
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22 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): -2
Immense patience..immeasurable patience


Explanation:
I think it' s an oxymoron....terrify and bored thar may be You can translate with...immense patience or a patience that terrify...immeasurable patience.

Roberta Broccoletti
Italy
Local time: 13:07
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: Italian

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
neutral  Mark Robertson: If is was an oxymoron, which it isn't, it should still be translated.
25 mins
  -> I Think the Asker required just an explication. In fact on the Top is written from english to english.
disagree  B D Finch: I think you have failed to understand the sentence in question. It is certainly not an oxymoron and your rephrasing, besides being grammatically incorrect, destroys the sense of the ST.
49 mins
disagree  Yvonne Gallagher: no, you haven't understoood this or rephrased correctly. English to English
1 hr
  -> I'm sorry Mdme, I have answered using my mobile and I misunderstand the term "than" with "that". I' very sorry. Roberta
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