All 4 Uses of
elaborate
in
A Thousand Acres
- These three remarks went unelaborated upon.†
p. 230.3 *unelaborated = without detailsstandard prefix: The prefix "un-" in unelaborated means not and reverses the meaning of elaborated. This is the same pattern you see in words like unhappy, unknown, and unlucky.
- The most expensive one in the stack was six dollars, an elaborate pineapple design done in the finest thread.†
p. 270.1
- Mr. Cartier got up and had Mary elaborate on the costs of the delay.†
p. 325.3
- She was wearing wool slacks and a beautiful sweater with an elaborate snowflake pattern around the yoke.†
p. 357.8
Definitions:
-
(1)
(elaborate as in: elaborate on your plan) add details or explain in detail
-
(2)
(elaborate as in: an elaborate design) having details and complexity -- sometimes fancy or ornateDepending upon it's context, this sense of elaborate can additionally imply that details make something either:
- more special than others of its kind in a good way
- more complicated than necessary in a bad way
-
(3)
(elaborate as in: an elaborate wink) to exaggerate an actionAt times, this sense of elaborate can further imply that an action was exaggerated by prolonging it (performing it more slowly than normal).
-
(4)
(meaning too rare to warrant focus) meaning too rare to warrant focus