Expression: "Condensation of one's exploits..."

[Tom]

Hi

Could you please tell me what the given sentence means?

"Condensation of one's exploits is ticklish work; for it always courts the danger of coming up with a watered-down version of the most inspiring part of the original.

Tom

[Yankee]

Hi Tom

When you condense something (a book, for example), you make it smaller or shorter. In other words, a lot is removed.

Condensation can also mean "to remove the water from something".

Something that is watered-down has lost its force or effect because water has been added. (Just imagine adding a liter of water to a liter of gasoline/petrol. Your car won't run very well on watered-down gasoline/petrol. ) "Watered-down" is also used figuratively.

The writer of your sentence was playing with both the idea of adding as well as removing water (figuratively).

So, if you condense something too much, the risk is that it will also lose its punch or effect

Does that clear things up?

Amy
_________________
Amy
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ESL teacher, translator, and a native speaker of American English

[Tom]

Hi Tom

[Yankee]

Hi Tom

Sorry, I must have clicked the "edit" button instead of the "quote" button when I answered your last post. Fortunately most of it's quoted, so I'm hoping that not much of your post got lost. But, the end result is that my answers are now directly in your post.

On the other hand, maybe the forum software was having a momentary glitch at the time....

Amy
_________________
Amy
.
ESL teacher, translator, and a native speaker of American English

[Tom]

[Yankee]

Hi Tom

You're right, it is redundant ... unless, of course, you have intermediate results before you get to the end one. Many companies nowadays might tell you that that most results are not final until they've be revised a number of times.

Amy
_________________
Amy
.
ESL teacher, translator, and a native speaker of American English