as if he were a pesky tourist asking silly questions of a busy man

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Jackson6612

#510990 Wed, 07 May 08 11:21 PM

What does the phrase of a busy man mean in the following sentence?
...as if he were a pesky tourist asking silly questions of a busy man.

Jackson6612

Joined on Wed, Dec 27 2006

Senior Member (2,952)

NOTE: When you reply to my post, please look for mistakes in grammar, syntax or punctuation, and let me know of any suggestions you have. Thank you.

Yankee

#510991 Wed, 07 May 08 11:24 PM

It means the same thing as "asking a busy man silly questions".

Yankee

Joined on Sat, Apr 15 2006

Connecticut, USA

Senior Member (4,157)

Amy "You can't depend on your eyes when your imagination is out of focus." - Mark Twain

Jackson6612

#510999 Wed, 07 May 08 11:41 PM

Hi Amy,

Can you, please, provide me with a sentence in which of is being used in the same way as in that sentence?

Jackson6612

Yankee

#511012 Thu, 08 May 08 12:31 AM

Hi Jackson

I googled "ask of" and "asked of" and found these sentences, for example:

What you can ask of a researcher in an email. (In this sentence, the sense is "ask a researcher to do".)

Obama deserved the questions asked of him, as he is the one in the middle of the controversies.

This list of Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) has been compiled from questions asked of the SPC...

Yankee

Jackson6612

#512057 Sat, 10 May 08 12:32 PM

ask:
5 DEMAND
[transitive] if you ask something of someone, you want them to do it for you
e.g. It would be better if he cooperated, but perhaps I'm asking too much.
ask something of somebody
e.g. You have no right to ask anything of me.
e.g. Expecting the children to do an hour's homework after school is asking a lot of them.
[LDOCE]

Does the above definition mean the same as Yankee has interpreted ask of?