All 5 Uses of
coax
in
My Antonia
- While Krajiek was translating for Mr. Shimerda, Antonia came up to me and held out her hand coaxingly.†
Book 1 *coaxingly = in a manner that tries to obtain a result through gentle and careful effort -- often gently persuading
- When she coaxed and insisted, I repulsed her quite sternly.†
Book 1coaxed = tried to obtain a result through gentle and careful effort -- often gently persuaded
- While we sat in the kitchen waiting for the cookies to bake or the taffy to cool, Nina used to coax Antonia to tell her stories—about the calf that broke its leg, or how Yulka saved her little turkeys from drowning in the freshet, or about old Christmases and weddings in Bohemia.†
Book 2
- Sometimes I overtook the girls downtown and coaxed them into the ice-cream parlour, where they would sit chattering and laughing, telling me all the news from the country.†
Book 2coaxed = tried to obtain a result through gentle and careful effort -- often gently persuaded
- She was always coaxing brother to go to the post-office.†
Book 4coaxing = trying to obtain a result through gentle and careful effort -- often gently persuading
Definitions:
-
(1)
(coax as in: coax her to join us) try to obtain a result through gentle and careful effort -- often gentle persuasion
-
(2)
(meaning too rare to warrant focus) meaning too rare to warrant focus:
Less commonly, coax is a short for coaxial cable (a type of electrical cable used to transmit data, the internet, video and voice communications). Coaxial cables have a conducting wire surrounded by an insulating layer surrounded by a shield. The insulating layer and shield surround a common axis--the conducting wire.
In classic literature, you may see coax used as a synonym for caress or fondle.