doorway

English translation: recessed doorway

19:54 May 29, 2011
English language (monolingual) [Non-PRO]
General / Conversation / Greetings / Letters
English term or phrase: doorway
Hi, I'm reading John Wain's "Hurry on Down." I don't understand exactly what the doorway mentioned in this scene is supposed to look like (pg 54-55 in my book).

It is the scene where Charles gets shoved against the "doorway" by the crazy guy before Ern comes out of Harry's. "He crashed into a dark doorway next to the entrance at Harry's" "It was dark in the doorway. The man who happened to walk past saw nothing."

So this would be like one yard /meter deep and the width of a normal door? A doorway with a lot of recessed space, hidden away from view, where two people could not be seen by someone who passed by it on the street?

Later, "Charles moved out of the doorway."

The meaning of 'doorway' I know of would never include so much recessed space as to hide two people. That's why I am asking the question.
veratek
Brazil
Local time: 12:22
Selected answer:recessed doorway
Explanation:
I think your interpretation is correct - it is a recessed space which give access to a door. Depending on the architecture of the building, the recess could be a meter or more, and, if this is at night, with poor lighting, this space could be completely dark, in shadow, or at least seem so to someone walking past on the street which is better lit. Two people could easily fit into a meter-wide space.

It seems clear to me that this is the scene the author wants to create.
Selected response from:

Martin Riordan
Brazil
Local time: 12:22
Grading comment
Thank you!
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



SUMMARY OF ALL EXPLANATIONS PROVIDED
4 +6doorway
Tony M
4recessed doorway
Martin Riordan


Discussion entries: 5





  

Answers


12 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5
recessed doorway


Explanation:
I think your interpretation is correct - it is a recessed space which give access to a door. Depending on the architecture of the building, the recess could be a meter or more, and, if this is at night, with poor lighting, this space could be completely dark, in shadow, or at least seem so to someone walking past on the street which is better lit. Two people could easily fit into a meter-wide space.

It seems clear to me that this is the scene the author wants to create.

Martin Riordan
Brazil
Local time: 12:22
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 275
Grading comment
Thank you!
Login to enter a peer comment (or grade)

12 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +6
doorway


Explanation:
Nothing really odd about the language here: it's a perfectly normal, natural EN expression, and doorways come in all shapes and sizes.

Perhaps not a metre deep, but doors that open directly onto the street do often have quite a deep recess — sometimes, it is needed simply to accommodate the few steps that are sometimes there to lead up to the entrance. If two people flatten themselves back against the door into the shadows, they need not necessarily be seen.

Depends of course, too, on whether or not this is a residential doorway or perhaps some kind of commercial premises — say an emergency exit; in which case, it might be quite a big space, as emergency doors open outwards, and regulations sometimes require the recess to be deep enough for the doors to open within it (so they don't fly out onto the street and hit passers-by!)


--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 33 minutes (2011-05-29 20:27:39 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

Well, I just wasn't sure quite what the reason was for your posting this as a terminology question — since there doesn't seem to be anything particularly hard to understand about this very everyday term? So I assumed you must have thought there was something unusual about it...

Tony M
France
Local time: 16:22
Works in field
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 309
Notes to answerer
Asker: I never said there was something odd about the language itself. I just wanted to make sure I pictured it right. And I agree, it could be less than a meter in depth. I think it would need to be about 50cm though, but as Martin said, the type of lighting would also matter enormously to determine if the two people in the doorway would be completely hidden or not.


Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Liz Dexter (was Broomfield)
7 mins
  -> Thanks, Liz!

agree  Jack Doughty
10 mins
  -> Thanks, Jack!

agree  Sheila Wilson: I always picture a shop doorway, never residential, although I suppose I'm forcing an interpretation that isn't necessarily in the writer's mind
28 mins
  -> Thanks, Sheila! Me too, and it does sound quite like a commercial street, doesn't it?

agree  airmailrpl: The doorway to my house in Brasil can easily hold two people and they will be in the dark since I haven't gotten the light installed yet. We built it that way (recessed) to be out of the rain while putting the key in the lock.
5 hrs
  -> Thanks, Airmail! Perhaps Vera could pop round and have a look ;-) LOL!

agree  B D Finch: Depends how fat they are! // No personal comment intended! It is indeed sad that a detailed, expert knowledge of chocolate comes at such a price.
1 day 2 hrs
  -> Thanks, Barbare! Oh dear me, these days it would take an exceptionally deep doorway to hide me, I fear!

agree  Phong Le
1 day 3 hrs
  -> Thanks, Phong Le!
Login to enter a peer comment (or grade)



Login or register (free and only takes a few minutes) to participate in this question.

You will also have access to many other tools and opportunities designed for those who have language-related jobs (or are passionate about them). Participation is free and the site has a strict confidentiality policy.

KudoZ™ translation help

The KudoZ network provides a framework for translators and others to assist each other with translations or explanations of terms and short phrases.


See also:
Term search
  • All of ProZ.com
  • Term search
  • Jobs
  • Forums
  • Multiple search