"Mend offenses"

[Orion Montoya]

On 7/10/06, Jim Parish <jparish at siue.edu> wrote:
> "He was there to mend offenses, to charm and disarm, ingratiate and
> manipulate to the best of his ability"
>
> The phrase makes a certain amount of sense on its own, but I can't
> help thinking that it's a reinterpretation of "mend fences". Any thoughts?

A Midsummer Night's Dream?

Puck: If we shadows have offended,
think but this, and all is mended:
that you have but slumbered here,
etc.

"Mending offenses" is not 100% exactly what's going on here, but it's
very close, certainly enough for sounding erudite.

O.

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