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obscure avenue



 
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ESL Forum | English Vocabulary, Grammar and Idioms
better off (I will be better off after I get a good job) | She said if I were vs. had been
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obscure avenue #1 (permalink) Tue Aug 14, 2007 19:36 pm   obscure avenue
 

Hi everyone.
I'd like to ask about the meaning of the obscure avenue in the following passage.
He was a failed poet, or a dangerously successful poet, or a refugee who had escaped some political mess—unless he was some species of criminal, of course. One certainty was his financial security; but where his money came from was a subject of considerable debate. Inherited, some claimed. Others voted for gambling winnings or lucrative investments on now-distant colony worlds. Whatever the story, the man had the luxury of filling his days doing very little, and during his years on this obscure avenue, he had helped his neighbors with unsolicited gifts of money and sometimes more impressive flavors of aid.
Does it mean that the avenue was indistinct and not very well known or it simply mean that the avenue was dark (because of bad lighting for example)?
Klpno
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Joined: 17 Jun 2007
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obscure avenue #2 (permalink) Tue Aug 14, 2007 20:25 pm   obscure avenue
 

Not sure why I keep ended up answering your questions... Smile...

"obscure" here means "indistinct" as you put it. This fits with the character being of questionable origin...having something to hide ... so naturally the character would not want to live in a welknown place that might draw attention to himself.
Diverhank
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Joined: 25 Apr 2007
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Location: California, USA

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obscure avenue #3 (permalink) Wed Aug 15, 2007 7:38 am   obscure avenue
 

.
It is either a little-known street or a metaphor for his 'his days of doing very little'.
.
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obscure avenue #4 (permalink) Wed Aug 15, 2007 7:43 am   obscure avenue
 

Thank you very much, diverhank and Mister Micawber.
Klpno
I'm here quite often ;-)


Joined: 17 Jun 2007
Posts: 385

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