What does “that would be a mistake” mean here?
"The situation is a test of President Donald Trump and his foreign-policy team, including the hawkish national security adviser, John Bolton. This week Mr Bolton hinted at the use of American troops. Barring state violence against American citizens, that would be a mistake."
Does it mean that American forces would only be used against its citizens, otherwise it is illegal?
meaning meaning-in-context phrase-meaning sentence-meaning
asked 52 mins ago
Lexinton AveLexinton Ave
915
add a comment |
"The situation is a test of President Donald Trump and his foreign-policy team, including the hawkish national security adviser, John Bolton. This week Mr Bolton hinted at the use of American troops. Barring state violence against American citizens, that would be a mistake."
Does it mean that American forces would only be used against its citizens, otherwise it is illegal?
meaning meaning-in-context phrase-meaning sentence-meaning
asked 52 mins ago
Lexinton AveLexinton Ave
915
The meaning of "mistake" is determined based on the values of the speaker. He might feel it would be illegal, immoral, politically unpopular, or maybe unprofitable.
– Hot Licks
41 mins ago
I think a larger sample of this quote is necessary to fully answer this question--it seems likely to me that "that" refers to action mentioned in a previous sentence.
– Katy
34 mins ago
@Katy I've add some context. It is discussing possible American action toward Venezuelan affairs.
– Lexinton Ave
27 mins ago
add a comment |
"The situation is a test of President Donald Trump and his foreign-policy team, including the hawkish national security adviser, John Bolton. This week Mr Bolton hinted at the use of American troops. Barring state violence against American citizens, that would be a mistake."
Does it mean that American forces would only be used against its citizens, otherwise it is illegal?
meaning meaning-in-context phrase-meaning sentence-meaning
asked 52 mins ago
Lexinton AveLexinton Ave
915
"The situation is a test of President Donald Trump and his foreign-policy team, including the hawkish national security adviser, John Bolton. This week Mr Bolton hinted at the use of American troops. Barring state violence against American citizens, that would be a mistake."
Does it mean that American forces would only be used against its citizens, otherwise it is illegal?
meaning meaning-in-context phrase-meaning sentence-meaning
meaning meaning-in-context phrase-meaning sentence-meaning
asked 52 mins ago
Lexinton AveLexinton Ave
915
asked 52 mins ago
Lexinton AveLexinton Ave
915
edited 29 mins ago
Lexinton Ave
asked 52 mins ago
Lexinton AveLexinton Ave
915
asked 52 mins ago
Lexinton AveLexinton Ave
915
asked 52 mins ago
Lexinton AveLexinton Ave
915
915
The meaning of "mistake" is determined based on the values of the speaker. He might feel it would be illegal, immoral, politically unpopular, or maybe unprofitable.
– Hot Licks
41 mins ago
I think a larger sample of this quote is necessary to fully answer this question--it seems likely to me that "that" refers to action mentioned in a previous sentence.
– Katy
34 mins ago
@Katy I've add some context. It is discussing possible American action toward Venezuelan affairs.
– Lexinton Ave
27 mins ago
add a comment |
The meaning of "mistake" is determined based on the values of the speaker. He might feel it would be illegal, immoral, politically unpopular, or maybe unprofitable.
– Hot Licks
41 mins ago
I think a larger sample of this quote is necessary to fully answer this question--it seems likely to me that "that" refers to action mentioned in a previous sentence.
– Katy
34 mins ago
@Katy I've add some context. It is discussing possible American action toward Venezuelan affairs.
– Lexinton Ave
27 mins ago
The meaning of "mistake" is determined based on the values of the speaker. He might feel it would be illegal, immoral, politically unpopular, or maybe unprofitable.
– Hot Licks
41 mins ago
The meaning of "mistake" is determined based on the values of the speaker. He might feel it would be illegal, immoral, politically unpopular, or maybe unprofitable.
– Hot Licks
41 mins ago
I think a larger sample of this quote is necessary to fully answer this question--it seems likely to me that "that" refers to action mentioned in a previous sentence.
– Katy
34 mins ago
I think a larger sample of this quote is necessary to fully answer this question--it seems likely to me that "that" refers to action mentioned in a previous sentence.
– Katy
34 mins ago
@Katy I've add some context. It is discussing possible American action toward Venezuelan affairs.
– Lexinton Ave
27 mins ago
@Katy I've add some context. It is discussing possible American action toward Venezuelan affairs.
– Lexinton Ave
27 mins ago
add a comment |
3 Answers
3
active
oldest
votes
Next time, please give us more context, and/or a link to the text where you found the sentence.
I found the article. I took an extremely brief glance and got the impression that the paragraph that contains your sentence is about whether the US should meddle/intervene in another country or not. That helped me understand the sentence. Here's the meaning, loosely:
Unless violence were perpetrated by the government of the other country against US citizens, intervening/meddling would be a mistake.
answered 30 mins ago
aparente001aparente001
14.7k43470
add a comment |
Thank you for editing in the additional context. "That would be a mistake" refers to "use of American troops."
"Barring" means except for or unless something happens. https://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/dictionary/english/barring
In this case, the sentence means "Unless there is violence perpetrated by the Venezuelan state against American citizens, it would be a mistake to use American troops."
A "mistake" doesn't necessarily mean illegal--it simply means the author thinks it's a bad idea.
answered 20 mins ago
KatyKaty
1261
New contributor
Katy is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
add a comment |
The only acceptable job for American troops is protecting American citizens from Venezuelan state violence.
answered 17 mins ago
Rees RippleRees Ripple
1
New contributor
Rees Ripple is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
add a comment |
Your Answer
StackExchange.ready(function() {
var channelOptions = {
tags: "".split(" "),
id: "97"
};
initTagRenderer("".split(" "), "".split(" "), channelOptions);
StackExchange.using("externalEditor", function() {
// Have to fire editor after snippets, if snippets enabled
if (StackExchange.settings.snippets.snippetsEnabled) {
StackExchange.using("snippets", function() {
createEditor();
});
}
else {
createEditor();
}
});
function createEditor() {
StackExchange.prepareEditor({
heartbeatType: 'answer',
autoActivateHeartbeat: false,
convertImagesToLinks: false,
noModals: true,
showLowRepImageUploadWarning: true,
reputationToPostImages: null,
bindNavPrevention: true,
postfix: "",
imageUploader: {
brandingHtml: "Powered by u003ca class="icon-imgur-white" href="https://imgur.com/"u003eu003c/au003e",
contentPolicyHtml: "User contributions licensed under u003ca href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/"u003ecc by-sa 3.0 with attribution requiredu003c/au003e u003ca href="https://stackoverflow.com/legal/content-policy"u003e(content policy)u003c/au003e",
allowUrls: true
},
noCode: true, onDemand: true,
discardSelector: ".discard-answer"
,immediatelyShowMarkdownHelp:true
});
}
});
Sign up or log in
StackExchange.ready(function () {
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
var $window = $(window),
onScroll = function(e) {
var $elem = $('.new-login-left'),
docViewTop = $window.scrollTop(),
docViewBottom = docViewTop + $window.height(),
elemTop = $elem.offset().top,
elemBottom = elemTop + $elem.height();
if ((docViewTop elemBottom)) {
StackExchange.using('gps', function() { StackExchange.gps.track('embedded_signup_form.view', { location: 'question_page' }); });
$window.unbind('scroll', onScroll);
}
};
$window.on('scroll', onScroll);
});
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
StackExchange.ready(
function () {
StackExchange.openid.initPostLogin('.new-post-login', 'https%3a%2f%2fenglish.stackexchange.com%2fquestions%2f484457%2fwhat-does-that-would-be-a-mistake-mean-here%23new-answer', 'question_page');
}
);
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
3 Answers
3
active
oldest
votes
3 Answers
3
active
oldest
votes
active
oldest
votes
active
oldest
votes
Next time, please give us more context, and/or a link to the text where you found the sentence.
I found the article. I took an extremely brief glance and got the impression that the paragraph that contains your sentence is about whether the US should meddle/intervene in another country or not. That helped me understand the sentence. Here's the meaning, loosely:
Unless violence were perpetrated by the government of the other country against US citizens, intervening/meddling would be a mistake.
answered 30 mins ago
aparente001aparente001
14.7k43470
add a comment |
Next time, please give us more context, and/or a link to the text where you found the sentence.
I found the article. I took an extremely brief glance and got the impression that the paragraph that contains your sentence is about whether the US should meddle/intervene in another country or not. That helped me understand the sentence. Here's the meaning, loosely:
Unless violence were perpetrated by the government of the other country against US citizens, intervening/meddling would be a mistake.
answered 30 mins ago
aparente001aparente001
14.7k43470
add a comment |
Next time, please give us more context, and/or a link to the text where you found the sentence.
I found the article. I took an extremely brief glance and got the impression that the paragraph that contains your sentence is about whether the US should meddle/intervene in another country or not. That helped me understand the sentence. Here's the meaning, loosely:
Unless violence were perpetrated by the government of the other country against US citizens, intervening/meddling would be a mistake.
answered 30 mins ago
aparente001aparente001
14.7k43470
Next time, please give us more context, and/or a link to the text where you found the sentence.
I found the article. I took an extremely brief glance and got the impression that the paragraph that contains your sentence is about whether the US should meddle/intervene in another country or not. That helped me understand the sentence. Here's the meaning, loosely:
Unless violence were perpetrated by the government of the other country against US citizens, intervening/meddling would be a mistake.
answered 30 mins ago
aparente001aparente001
14.7k43470
answered 30 mins ago
aparente001aparente001
14.7k43470
answered 30 mins ago
aparente001aparente001
14.7k43470
answered 30 mins ago
aparente001aparente001
14.7k43470
14.7k43470
add a comment |
add a comment |
Thank you for editing in the additional context. "That would be a mistake" refers to "use of American troops."
"Barring" means except for or unless something happens. https://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/dictionary/english/barring
In this case, the sentence means "Unless there is violence perpetrated by the Venezuelan state against American citizens, it would be a mistake to use American troops."
A "mistake" doesn't necessarily mean illegal--it simply means the author thinks it's a bad idea.
answered 20 mins ago
KatyKaty
1261
New contributor
Katy is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
add a comment |
Thank you for editing in the additional context. "That would be a mistake" refers to "use of American troops."
"Barring" means except for or unless something happens. https://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/dictionary/english/barring
In this case, the sentence means "Unless there is violence perpetrated by the Venezuelan state against American citizens, it would be a mistake to use American troops."
A "mistake" doesn't necessarily mean illegal--it simply means the author thinks it's a bad idea.
answered 20 mins ago
KatyKaty
1261
New contributor
Katy is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
add a comment |
Thank you for editing in the additional context. "That would be a mistake" refers to "use of American troops."
"Barring" means except for or unless something happens. https://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/dictionary/english/barring
In this case, the sentence means "Unless there is violence perpetrated by the Venezuelan state against American citizens, it would be a mistake to use American troops."
A "mistake" doesn't necessarily mean illegal--it simply means the author thinks it's a bad idea.
answered 20 mins ago
KatyKaty
1261
New contributor
Katy is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
Thank you for editing in the additional context. "That would be a mistake" refers to "use of American troops."
"Barring" means except for or unless something happens. https://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/dictionary/english/barring
In this case, the sentence means "Unless there is violence perpetrated by the Venezuelan state against American citizens, it would be a mistake to use American troops."
A "mistake" doesn't necessarily mean illegal--it simply means the author thinks it's a bad idea.
answered 20 mins ago
KatyKaty
1261
New contributor
Katy is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
answered 20 mins ago
KatyKaty
1261
New contributor
Katy is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
answered 20 mins ago
KatyKaty
1261
answered 20 mins ago
KatyKaty
1261
1261
New contributor
Katy is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
New contributor
Katy is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
Katy is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
add a comment |
add a comment |
The only acceptable job for American troops is protecting American citizens from Venezuelan state violence.
answered 17 mins ago
Rees RippleRees Ripple
1
New contributor
Rees Ripple is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
add a comment |
The only acceptable job for American troops is protecting American citizens from Venezuelan state violence.
answered 17 mins ago
Rees RippleRees Ripple
1
New contributor
Rees Ripple is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
add a comment |
The only acceptable job for American troops is protecting American citizens from Venezuelan state violence.
answered 17 mins ago
Rees RippleRees Ripple
1
New contributor
Rees Ripple is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
The only acceptable job for American troops is protecting American citizens from Venezuelan state violence.
answered 17 mins ago
Rees RippleRees Ripple
1
New contributor
Rees Ripple is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
answered 17 mins ago
Rees RippleRees Ripple
1
New contributor
Rees Ripple is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
answered 17 mins ago
Rees RippleRees Ripple
1
answered 17 mins ago
Rees RippleRees Ripple
1
1
New contributor
Rees Ripple is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
New contributor
Rees Ripple is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
Rees Ripple is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
add a comment |
add a comment |
Thanks for contributing an answer to English Language & Usage Stack Exchange!
- Please be sure to answer the question. Provide details and share your research!
But avoid …
- Asking for help, clarification, or responding to other answers.
- Making statements based on opinion; back them up with references or personal experience.
To learn more, see our tips on writing great answers.
Sign up or log in
StackExchange.ready(function () {
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
var $window = $(window),
onScroll = function(e) {
var $elem = $('.new-login-left'),
docViewTop = $window.scrollTop(),
docViewBottom = docViewTop + $window.height(),
elemTop = $elem.offset().top,
elemBottom = elemTop + $elem.height();
if ((docViewTop elemBottom)) {
StackExchange.using('gps', function() { StackExchange.gps.track('embedded_signup_form.view', { location: 'question_page' }); });
$window.unbind('scroll', onScroll);
}
};
$window.on('scroll', onScroll);
});
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
StackExchange.ready(
function () {
StackExchange.openid.initPostLogin('.new-post-login', 'https%3a%2f%2fenglish.stackexchange.com%2fquestions%2f484457%2fwhat-does-that-would-be-a-mistake-mean-here%23new-answer', 'question_page');
}
);
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
Sign up or log in
StackExchange.ready(function () {
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
var $window = $(window),
onScroll = function(e) {
var $elem = $('.new-login-left'),
docViewTop = $window.scrollTop(),
docViewBottom = docViewTop + $window.height(),
elemTop = $elem.offset().top,
elemBottom = elemTop + $elem.height();
if ((docViewTop elemBottom)) {
StackExchange.using('gps', function() { StackExchange.gps.track('embedded_signup_form.view', { location: 'question_page' }); });
$window.unbind('scroll', onScroll);
}
};
$window.on('scroll', onScroll);
});
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
Sign up or log in
StackExchange.ready(function () {
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
var $window = $(window),
onScroll = function(e) {
var $elem = $('.new-login-left'),
docViewTop = $window.scrollTop(),
docViewBottom = docViewTop + $window.height(),
elemTop = $elem.offset().top,
elemBottom = elemTop + $elem.height();
if ((docViewTop elemBottom)) {
StackExchange.using('gps', function() { StackExchange.gps.track('embedded_signup_form.view', { location: 'question_page' }); });
$window.unbind('scroll', onScroll);
}
};
$window.on('scroll', onScroll);
});
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
Sign up or log in
StackExchange.ready(function () {
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
var $window = $(window),
onScroll = function(e) {
var $elem = $('.new-login-left'),
docViewTop = $window.scrollTop(),
docViewBottom = docViewTop + $window.height(),
elemTop = $elem.offset().top,
elemBottom = elemTop + $elem.height();
if ((docViewTop elemBottom)) {
StackExchange.using('gps', function() { StackExchange.gps.track('embedded_signup_form.view', { location: 'question_page' }); });
$window.unbind('scroll', onScroll);
}
};
$window.on('scroll', onScroll);
});
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
The meaning of "mistake" is determined based on the values of the speaker. He might feel it would be illegal, immoral, politically unpopular, or maybe unprofitable.
– Hot Licks
41 mins ago
I think a larger sample of this quote is necessary to fully answer this question--it seems likely to me that "that" refers to action mentioned in a previous sentence.
– Katy
34 mins ago
@Katy I've add some context. It is discussing possible American action toward Venezuelan affairs.
– Lexinton Ave
27 mins ago