Expression: Go back 6 spaces

[Haihao]

Hi,

I have got a silly question to ask of you. There was this picture book in which some conversations were going on:

[NinaZara]

It's not silly it took me a while but I think that 'somebody' doesn't want to be near that sick boy because the fever might be contagious.

Or have you figured that out and looking for something else?Maybe she/he said spaces instead of steps because she wanted the boy to be very far from her/him.

[Haihao]

[NinaZara]

Have you considered why 6 is used there?Something to do with the geometry of a box?

Or there's another meaning of fever

[Haihao]

My feeling is 6 might just be a convenient figure used by the warner to indicate some or many. Apparently she/he wanted the boy to keep an amount of distance away from her/him for the purpose you pointed out. Maybe I took it too literally with an impression that 'space' was subject to being two/three-dimensional. But actually 'space' could be one/two/three-dimensional according to some dictionary I have checked up the word with right now. So, now I wonder, does it just mean 'distance' or 'steps' just as you said? Or is it related to some kid's game such as hopscotch?

Thanks, Nina, for your response.

Haihao

[NinaZara]

I checked the dic. too and maybe all it meant was 'distance'/'steps' but any opinion from the native would be helpful, I guess.

p/s:

[Alan]

Hi Haihao,

Clearly the 'six spaces' suggests stepping back or away and indicates 'paces'. On board games where you have to move a small plastic figure around a board according to the number shown on the dice that you have thrown, we usually refer to the different squares on the board as 'spaces' as in: Move six spaces to the right/left.

A
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[Haihao]

Hi Alan,

Thank you very much as always. In fact the 'space' has been on my mind almost for the whole day . But now I think I could go and have my tea!

Haihao

[NinaZara]

I can't get it out of my mind too and I've been asking people around me.Alan has really cleared it up with his 'board games' explanation.

Thanks Alan!

[Haihao]

Another idiom related to board game occured to me: Go back to square one.

haihao