To throw at sb stick

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Anonymous  #180048  Sat, 07 Jan 06 06:01 PM

Hello

I have problem with meaning of (I think) an idiomatic expression: "Throw at sb stick". I cannot make it out. Can someone help?

Martin 

  
pieanne  #180053  Sat, 07 Jan 06 06:07 PM

Could we have the context, Anon? It's usually "to throw a stick at".

  
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Anonymous  #180067  Sat, 07 Jan 06 06:42 PM

From article: The girls burst into tears, and a few weeks ago one singer threw at me a stick after I told him he had failed to get through to the next round.

Thanks...

  
pieanne  #180069  Sat, 07 Jan 06 06:48 PM
I'm clueless, Anon...
  
Anonymous  #180072  Sat, 07 Jan 06 06:53 PM

And the meaning of throw a stick at sb..., please??? I do not have idea at all...

Martin

  
pieanne  #180077  Sat, 07 Jan 06 07:10 PM

Well, I'm not a native, as you can see, and my results come from Google. I haven't found it registered under "idiom" in Cambridge.

First it's literal: to throw a stick in the direction of someone.

Then you have "to throw a stick into something", it's to try & prevent the success of something.

"More than you can throw a stick at" seems to mean "more than expected"

And then you have the "throw(ing) stick", it's a boomerang, the curved piece of wood that's supposed to come back to you after you've thrown it.

Anyway, the normal order of complements is "to throw what/at - to whom/what"

That's all I can do for you, Anon, sorry, others will surely give their opinions later...

  
Anonymous  #180079  Sat, 07 Jan 06 07:15 PM
Thanx a lot...
  
pieanne  #180097  Sat, 07 Jan 06 08:41 PM
Check tomorrow, Anon, there may be better answers...
  
MrPedantic  #180129  Sat, 07 Jan 06 11:59 PM

Well, I can't find the article online; but from the little we have, it seems simply to be unusual word order, meaning "threw a stick at me".

MrP

  
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