to parse

[Garson O'Toole]

Jon Lighter wrote:
> It's the hot new, fun new way to say "determine; understand exactly":

In the following 2002 excerpt the phrase "trying to parse" seems to
mean "determine; understand exactly". But the OED does offer another
definition for the verb parse: 2. trans. In extended use: to examine
or analyse minutely.

Title: Henry James Goes to the Movies
Author: Susan M. Griffin
Year: 2002 - 386
(Google Books preview)

[Begin excerpt]
Keep in mind that the metaphorical vertiginousness of The Golden Bowl,
in its approximation of individuals trying to parse hidden motives and
obscure desires, reduces the reader to a state where big
epistemological questions - What is happening? What does it mean? How
should it be valued? - are paramount.
[End excerpt]


Prominent writer David Foster Wallace used the phrase "trying to
parse" in 1996. In the following excerpt the phrase may be interpreted
as: trying to identify the grammatical constituents of a sentence in
order to decode its meaning. However, some readers probably used Jon
Lighter's suggested definition: "determine; understand exactly". This
definition is simpler and easier to apply.

My guess is that Wallace meant something more sophisticated. The
parsing process referred to the construction of a mapping from the
verbal directions to the physical world.

Title: Infinite Jest: A Novel
Author: David Foster Wallace
Copyright date: 1996
(Google Books preview)

[Begin extracted text]
Travelling long distances on signless streets trying to parse
directions like 'Take the second left off the rotary by the driveway
to the chiropractor's' and getting lost and shooting your whole
evening after a long day just to speak for like six minutes at a
plywood podium is called 'Getting Active With Your Group'; the
speaking itself is known as '12th-Step Work' or 'Giving It Away.
[End extracted text]


On Thu, May 3, 2012 at 5:43 PM, Jonathan Lighter <wuxxmupp2000 at gmail.com> wrote:
> ---------------------- Information from the mail header -----------------------
> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       Jonathan Lighter <wuxxmupp2000 at GMAIL.COM>
> Subject:      to parse
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> It's the hot new, fun new way to say "determine; understand exactly":
>
> 2007 http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=829406 L I'm thinking
> it's probably the Onkyo 604, but I can't seem to parse whether the hum
> issues only pertain to the 804 (and the 684?).
>
> 2009
> http://www.prefixmag.com/media/jesus-christ-the-indie-band/is-this-really-what-you-want-audio/33222/
> :
>  It's probably best to not even try to parse whether or not this band
> meant to be ironic.
>
> 2010
> http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704756804575608733870097728.html
> :
>  The refocus comes at a time when booksellers are trying to parse
> whether digital
> sales are cannibalizing hardcover and paperback sales.
>
> 2012
> http://www6.lexisnexis.com/publisher/EndUser?Action=UserDisplayFullDocument&orgId=574&topicId=100007219&docId=l:1652190394&isRss=true&Em=4
>  : That seems like an impossible thing to parse, this $900,000 plus dollars
> donated to Rielle Hunter. How do you parse whether or not that was done to
> avoid humiliation or continue his campaign?
>
>
> JL
>
>
>
>
> --
> "If the truth is half as bad as I think it is, you can't handle the truth."
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------
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