All 6 Uses of
acquire
in
The Remains of the Day
- In response to further letters in A Quarterly, the Society justified its stance by saying that while it accepted some correspondents' views that certain butlers of excellent quality were to be found in the houses of businessmen, 'the assumption had to be that the houses of true ladies and gentlemen would not refrain long from acquiring the services of any such persons'.†
Chpt 1e -acquiring = obtaining (coming into possession of)
- Those 'great' butlers like Mr Marshall who have it, I am sure, acquired it over many years of self-training and the careful absorbing of experience.†
Chpt 1e - *acquired = obtained (came into possession of)
- And I would maintain that for all his limited command of English and his limited general knowledge, he not only knew all there was to know about how to run a house, he did in his prime come to acquire that 'dignity in keeping with his position', as the Hayes Society puts it.†
Chpt 1e -
- If that is the 'professionalism' you refer to, sir, I don't much care for it and have no wish to acquire it.†
Chpt 2m -
- Acquiring a tankard of cider from the landlord, I seated myself at a table a little way away, intending to relax a little and collect my thoughts concerning the day.†
Chpt 3m -acquiring = obtaining (coming into possession of)
- By the very nature of a witticism, one is given very little time to assess its various possible repercussions before one is called to give voice to it, and one gravely risks uttering all manner of unsuitable things if one has not first acquired the necessary skill and experience.†
Chpt 3m -acquired = obtained (came into possession of)
Definition:
obtain (come into the possession of something)