This site uses cookies.
Some of these cookies are essential to the operation of the site,
while others help to improve your experience by providing insights into how the site is being used.
For more information, please see the ProZ.com privacy policy.
"While I’m pretty sure a woman such as yourself already has plans, I thought I’d take a chance and ask if there’s any possibility you would have dinner with me.” He endured a long silence before she said, “A table at Jean-Georges is hard to get.” Fuckin’ A, he thought. He’d had to remind the maître d’ of a certain incident he’d quieted down before it made Page Six. “I just told them there was a chance—just a chance—that the most beautiful and charming lady in New York might grace their establishment, and they fell all over themselves.”
What's "A"? I suppose it might be some kind of rating, but have not found anything that would fit the bill, and besides Jean-Georges is a top place and not just some obscure A-rated diner. So what else can it be?
Definitely a PRO question, IMHO. How could it not be when native speakers are confused as to the meaning? It's also potentially offensive to those who are offended by the F word, and many are. I suppose I should be having the vapours or something, as an older woman, but I'm made of sterner stuff.
12316323 (X)
23:20 Jun 11, 2017
I didn't realize that either. There are the "behind the scenes" thoughts, showing how hard he really had to work to get the table. And then there's his witty banter, where he pretends it was easy to impress and flatter her. I'm sure this is it.
Edit: Ah, now I understand. The third part in quotation marks is directly related to the first. Somehow, I thought this was internal dialog.
I won't rescind my agreement. KudoZ rules require that you choose the most helpful answer. You gave both explanations; one of them is correct.
Fun fact: So I was actually right with my first d-box post.
Best wishes
12316323 (X)
21:53 Jun 11, 2017
Björn, I'd prefer to be right, but it's now clear to me that I was not. And the right interpretation now seems clear as day to me. Though I'm quite puzzled by Jack's comment here in the discussion... I agree with his answer below, but if it were "Score!" (which is how I understood it all along), I'd argue that my answer was right (and better) to begin with. So, it looks like he's accidentally but luckily arrived at the right answer through a mistaken understanding. Sorry, Jack. I still agree with your answer, but "Score!" has nothing to do with agreement.
I have zero doubt that he's agreeing with her. You've got that right... You're damn right it's hard... You have no idea! Little did she know/if she only knew that HE'd had to do XYZ... No one knew better than he how hard it was. It looks like he'd had to bribe them.
IMHO, "fuckin' A" in given context expresses emphatic positive surprise that the lady has agreed for a date. He was not sure she will accept the invitation, thinking she'd decline, but to his surprise she did. Essentially, he said to himself: "Score!":
Score: (...) 4) The act of securing an advantage, especially a surprising or significant gain. (...) 7) A sexual conquest.
Well, I think I can agree with everything you said here, but don't regarding your agreement to the other answer. In the post we both shared, there's also this: "It can vent frustration. Dude, you drank my last can of LaCroix? Fucking A."
While I could still argue in favor of your suggestion ("awesome"), I'd have to reject the second answer's "emphatic yes." It's sarcasm. You're not "agreeing" - in fact, you may just add the letter "s" twice to the first.
12316323 (X)
21:00 Jun 11, 2017
I really agree with this line in the post we both shared: "But fucking A does a lot of its work announcing a kind of agreement – a subtle, knowing, or sympathizing kind of agreement."
Kind of depends on the context, but I'd say the following are/can be synonyms:
All right... Right on... Damn straight...
But from the context here, I think he's just psyched to get this non-rejection.
To clarify: you're probably right. I think I've misread part of the text at first; I hate he said-she said moments, haha.
Got a game at home where they say: "Let's kick some A" - well, it's a versatile letter.
12316323 (X)
20:51 Jun 11, 2017
Used ironically? Great... Fantastic...
In any case, I can't tell from the limited context if she's agreeing to the date with him or not, and, thus, his reaction. It sounds like she's giving a tentative yes, but pointing out (and maybe hoping that this will be her easy escape) that a table at this restaurant isn't easy to get (assuming he'd mentioned it to her). So he was thrilled to hear that that was her only objection, as he'd already secured the reservation because he knew the maître d’. Again, that's what I understand.