Both Uses
lapse
in
The Goldfinch
(Edited)
- So we're talking about a time lapse of forty minutes to an hour and a half after the initial explosion.
p. 107.1 *lapse = passing (of a period of time)
- Not that I hadn't had a few lapses—unpredictable glides where things flashed out of control for a few eerie blinks like an ice-skid on a bridge and I saw just how badly things could go, how quick.
p. 472.6 *lapses = temporary failures
Definitions:
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(1)
(lapse as in: a lapse in judgement) a change in behavior or state--usually undesired such as a temporary failureThe exact meaning of this sense of lapse is often subject to its context:
- example indicating an undesired change in behavior -- "lapsed into alcoholism"
- example indicating that the change was short-term and due to a failure (often of effort or diligence) -- "a lapse in judgment"
- example indicating return to a previous undesired behavior or state -- "lapsed into her old bad habits"
- examples indicating a change in what was occurring where the change is not necessarily negative -- "There was a lapse in the conversation," or "She stopped talking as she lapsed into her own internal world."
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(2)
(lapse as in: allowed the policy to lapse) end or terminate -- often of legal rights or of a person's association with an organization
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(3)
(lapse as in: after the lapse of many hours) a period of time -- often a period that has passed
- (4) (meaning too rare to warrant focus)