Posted by PeterH on November 14, 2006 at 22:55:01 from 86.142.67.238 user Peter_H.
In Reply to: Re: The Lakeland Pedlar/ lurking posted by Owen Roberts on November 14, 2006 at 21:24:03:
lurking is the correct thing for any true follower of S,A & D's to consider
What, all the time? And anyway, hang on a minute. Thanks to Ed's researches, we can see that 'lurk' has two meanings in AR's books. The first is the conventional meaning, ie 'to lie hid', 'to move about furtively' - in this sense it is an ongoing, continuing activity, it isn't just one action. But the second meaning comes in when the characters say 'Lurk!' This means 'Hide!', 'Drop to the ground immediately!', but what they are technically saying is 'Hang around out of sight for a bit!' which doesn't sound all that urgent. Why didn't they say 'Hide!', or alternatively, the old school warning - 'Cavey!' (from caveat). Does anyone know of 'lurk' being used like this elsewhere?