Glossary entry (derived from question below)
English term or phrase:
conspicuous by its absence
English answer:
evident/obvious/manifest absence / lack of
English term
conspicuous by its absence
Thank you!
Tacitus, Ann. III.76 |
Charles Davis
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Oct 20, 2012 19:36: changed "Kudoz queue" from "In queue" to "Public"
Oct 26, 2012 08:19: Vaddy Peters Created KOG entry
Responses
evident/obvious/manifest absence / lack of
(It was highly obvious that) he didn't have "the immortal ingredient"
it called attention to itself by not being there
agree |
katsy
7 mins
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Thanks, Katsy!
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agree |
Charles Davis
: I think the meaning is more or less "glaringly absent". I've agreed with you here primarily because you explain that it means he was dead, which is really the point.
22 mins
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Thanks, Charles! / Yes, that expresses it well!
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agree |
PoveyTrans (X)
32 mins
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Thanks, Simon!
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agree |
Yvonne Gallagher
3 hrs
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Thanks, gallagy2!
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agree |
Suzan Hamer
: Dictionary.com: "Glaringly obvious by the fact of not being there. For example, One agenda item concerning publicity is conspicuous by its absence. The idea is ancient; it was expressed by the Roman writer Tacitus..."
13 hrs
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Thanks, Suzan!
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agree |
Mel Willetts (X)
17 hrs
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Thanks, Mel!
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agree |
Nicole Y. Adams, M.A.
1 day 8 hrs
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Thanks, Nicole!
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Reference comments
Tacitus, Ann. III.76
"viginti clarissimarum familiarum imagines antelatae sunt, Manlii, Quinctii aliaque eiusdem nobilitatis nomina. sed praefulgebant Cassius atque Brutus eo ipso quod effigies eorum non visebantur."
Michael Grant translates this as follows:
"The effigies of twenty highly distinguished families, Manlii, Quinctii, and others equally aristocratic, headed the procession. But Cassius and Brutus were the most gloriously conspicuous – precisely because their statues were not to be seen."
The irony is devastating: Cassius and Brutus had been "airbrushed" out of history, along with the republic. Tacitus has no equal for this kind of thing.
Most likely he took it from here (Aw that Henry...) |
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