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to return money; to reimburse; to repay; to finance again
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Expression: on no terms



 
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ESL Forum | English Vocabulary, Grammar and Idioms
Is "strip my mind" an idimatic expression? | meaning of picky
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Expression: on no terms #1 (permalink) Tue May 01, 2007 5:41 am   Expression: on no terms
 

Hi,

I have come across a sentence like below:

We can accept his offer on no terms.

I understand it = We cannot accept his offer on any terms. However, in a certain context, I wonder if it could mean: we can accept his offer without any term?

Thank you!

Haihao
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Expression: on no terms #2 (permalink) Tue May 01, 2007 6:00 am   Expression: on no terms
 

That sentence doesn't sound very natural to me...and as you have pointed out, it's not that clear either :). I'd vote for the first definition, not the second.
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Expression: on no terms #3 (permalink) Tue May 01, 2007 7:31 am   Expression: on no terms
 

Hi Haihao,

Your sentence:
Quote:
We can accept his offer on no terms.
really contradicts itself because there is the positive accept and then the negative no terms and so we are left not knowing what the result is. For clarification your suggestion of making the verb negative seems a practical solution.

A
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