Jul 9, 2010 07:41
13 yrs ago
2 viewers *
English term

hyper-preparedness, or haywire, or hairtrigger

English Art/Literary Art, Arts & Crafts, Painting literature
I'm translating "BODY ARTIST" and I wonder what the mean of the sentence like this: " She had a hyper-preparedness, or haywire, or hairtrigger, and Rey was always saying, or said once, and she carried a voice in her head that was hers and it was dialogue or monologue and she went t the cabinet where she got the honey and the tea bags----a voice that flowed from a story in the paper."

What is "hyper-preparedness, or haywire, or hairtrigger"?

Thank you!

Discussion

Jenni Lukac (X) Jul 9, 2010:
It should be mentioned, however, that when someone says in English that another person has a short fuse they are saying that the person loses patience easily or can get angry very quickly. I don't think the description in the text is about losing patience or getting angry.
Jim Tucker (X) Jul 9, 2010:
"fuse" is fine also (To be specific, people in the profession use "fuse" for devices that are lit with a match. "Fuze" is reserved for devices with electrical or mechanical ignition. But in general use, the two are interchangeable.)
meirs Jul 9, 2010:
hairtrigger A very sensitive trigger (of a fire arm) - can be pulled with a human hair (a normal trigger needs a few kilograms of force for same. See also *short fuze* (not fuse) - fuze is the delay element of an explosive device (lit with a match in Westerns) - short means in this case "short time" to detonation.

Responses

+1
34 mins
Selected

Quickly responding to stimulation, over-excited

Hyper-preparedness: She was always alert, ready to jump up if the situation calls for her. "Hyper" indicates that it was an exaggerated feature in her personality, almost as if she was constantly sitting at the edge of her seat in case she was needed.

Haywire: The dictionary definition is "1.out of order; disorganized; confused
2.crazy" http://www.yourdictionary.com/haywire

And hairtrigger - which again is about the same idea as "hyper-preparedness":
Responding to the slightest provocation or stimulation: a hair-trigger temper; a hair-trigger reaction. http://www.thefreedictionary.com/hair-trigger
Peer comment(s):

agree Arabic & More
4 hrs
neutral meirs : over-excitable
6 hrs
OK :-)
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4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer. Comment: "Thank you for help!"
+1
44 mins

She was always prepared to respond to any stimulus and extremely sensitive these stimuli /see below

When something goes "haywire" it is percieved to go crazy, act chaotically. The artist has a haywire - that is to say that she was not the same as other people (she was "wired" differently). Not only did this unique circuitry make her incredibly sensitive to everything around her, but made her perceive it, and respond to it, in a very personal way that seemed strange to other people. The "hair trigger" indicates that even the smallest stimulus could cause her to react.
Peer comment(s):

agree Lynda Bogdan (X)
1 day 16 hrs
Good morning and thanks, corbettb.
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4 days

extreme sensitivity, deranging her senses and resulting in explosive reaction

Well, we all have experienced it ourselves and in others!
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