Both Uses of
oblique
in
Middlemarch
- That is the way with us when we have any uneasy jealousy in our disposition: if our talents are chiefly of the burrowing kind, our honey-sipping cousin (whom we have grave reasons for objecting to) is likely to have a secret contempt for us, and any one who admires him passes an oblique criticism on ourselves.†
Chpt 4
- "Not on my account, Sir James," said Dorothea, determined not to lose the opportunity of freeing herself from certain oblique references to excellent matches.†
Chpt 6 *
Definitions:
-
(1)
(oblique as in: an oblique reference) indirect; i.e., not straightforward
-
(2)
(meaning too rare to warrant focus) meaning too rare to warrant focus:
Less commonly, oblique can have other meanings that relate to the concept of slanting:- An oblique line is not parallel or perpendicular to its reference line.
- An oblique angle is not a right angle or a multiple of a right angle.
- An oblique muscle is one that runs at a slant relative to the long axis of the body or relevant limb--such as the abdominal obliques.