Hcfyk

Telemetry for feature health

Would this string work as string?

Limit max CPU usage SQL SERVER with WSRM

Alignment of six matrices

Can you identify this lizard-like creature I observed in the UK?

Does Doodling or Improvising on the Piano Have Any Benefits?

Why is the principal energy of an electron lower for excited electrons in a higher energy state?

Echo with obfuscation

If Captain Marvel (MCU) were to have a child with a human male, would the child be human or Kree?

What happens if I try to grapple an illusory duplicate from the Mirror Image spell?

How to make a list of partial sums using forEach

Check if object is null and return null

Has the laser at Magurele, Romania reached a tenth of the Sun's power?

Isometric embedding of a genus g surface

I'm just a whisper. Who am I?

Giving feedback to someone without sounding prejudiced

Animation: customize bounce interpolation

Quoting Keynes in a lecture

Is there a RAID 0 Equivalent for RAM?

Why does the Persian emissary display a string of crowned skulls?

Why didn’t Eve recognize the little cockroach as a living organism?

What does "tick" mean in this sentence?

Review your own paper in Mathematics

Do I have to take mana from my deck or hand when tapping a dual land?

Where does the humor of “satisfaction on the field of honor” come from?

Where does the “quint” in “quintessential” come from?Where does “Look yourself in the mirror” come from?Where does the word “totient” come from?Where does the phrase “get a bye” come from?What does humor-challenged mean?Where does “at any rate” come from?Where did “You missed a spot” come from?What does this humor mean?Where did the term “gumshoe” come from?Where does the term “Flashlight” come from?

-2

I am reading A Gentleman in Moscow and on the first page of the book, count Rostov is being questioned by prosecutor Vyshinsky:

Vyshinsky: Before we begin, I must say, I do not think I have ever seen a jacket festooned with so many buttons.

Rostov: Thank you.

Vyshinsky: It was not meant as a compliment.

Rostov: In that case, I demand satisfaction on the field of honor.

I have a difficulty understanding where the humor is, even though I understand the literal meaning of field of honor. Is the count challenging the prosecutor to a duel, as he is not complimenting him?

meaning humor

share|improve this question

asked Mar 17 at 15:29

Xinting WANGXinting WANG

1045

• 
  
  
  

  
  1
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  
  Yes, Rostov challenged Vyshinsky to a duel over spurning his buttons. It's up to interpretation what the humor was in that context - it could be that they mocked his old-fashioned aristocratic braggadocio shown by Rostov, or that even Rostov was making a joke - it was already silly to propose a duel over something so small in the context of being questioned by a prosecutor for the Kremlin.
  
  – TaliesinMerlin
  Mar 17 at 15:38
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  1
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  
  I'm voting to close this question as off-topic because it isn't a question about English but about finding the humor in a conversation in a novel.
  
  – TRomano
  Mar 17 at 15:49
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  1
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  
  Dueling was a pre-Revolution thing, unthinkable in the setting of the book, Thus, both the "Thank you" and the demand for a duel were ironic, i.e.. the Count knew that he wasn't being complimented, and he did not care that he was being insulted. He was, as the duel reference implied, a gentleman, and piss-ants like Vyshinsky did not merit the respect of a non-ironic reply. I don't know that "humor" is intended by the author so much as by the character, whose insouciance is meant to ridicule the show trial in which he was a player. (Enjoy the book; its excellent.)
  
  – remarkl
  Mar 17 at 16:15
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  
  @remarkl: Thank you for the explanation. I am not very familiar with the historical background and now it makes sense.
  
  – Xinting WANG
  Mar 17 at 17:14
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  
  @TaliesinMerlin, Thank you. With the explanation from you and remarkl's I understand the meaning here now!
  
  – Xinting WANG
  Mar 17 at 17:15
  

  
  
  
  

 | 
show 1 more comment

-2

I am reading A Gentleman in Moscow and on the first page of the book, count Rostov is being questioned by prosecutor Vyshinsky:

Vyshinsky: Before we begin, I must say, I do not think I have ever seen a jacket festooned with so many buttons.

Rostov: Thank you.

Vyshinsky: It was not meant as a compliment.

Rostov: In that case, I demand satisfaction on the field of honor.

I have a difficulty understanding where the humor is, even though I understand the literal meaning of field of honor. Is the count challenging the prosecutor to a duel, as he is not complimenting him?

meaning humor

share|improve this question

asked Mar 17 at 15:29

Xinting WANGXinting WANG

1045

• 
  
  
  

  
  1
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  
  Yes, Rostov challenged Vyshinsky to a duel over spurning his buttons. It's up to interpretation what the humor was in that context - it could be that they mocked his old-fashioned aristocratic braggadocio shown by Rostov, or that even Rostov was making a joke - it was already silly to propose a duel over something so small in the context of being questioned by a prosecutor for the Kremlin.
  
  – TaliesinMerlin
  Mar 17 at 15:38
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  1
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  
  I'm voting to close this question as off-topic because it isn't a question about English but about finding the humor in a conversation in a novel.
  
  – TRomano
  Mar 17 at 15:49
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  1
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  
  Dueling was a pre-Revolution thing, unthinkable in the setting of the book, Thus, both the "Thank you" and the demand for a duel were ironic, i.e.. the Count knew that he wasn't being complimented, and he did not care that he was being insulted. He was, as the duel reference implied, a gentleman, and piss-ants like Vyshinsky did not merit the respect of a non-ironic reply. I don't know that "humor" is intended by the author so much as by the character, whose insouciance is meant to ridicule the show trial in which he was a player. (Enjoy the book; its excellent.)
  
  – remarkl
  Mar 17 at 16:15
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  
  @remarkl: Thank you for the explanation. I am not very familiar with the historical background and now it makes sense.
  
  – Xinting WANG
  Mar 17 at 17:14
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  
  @TaliesinMerlin, Thank you. With the explanation from you and remarkl's I understand the meaning here now!
  
  – Xinting WANG
  Mar 17 at 17:15
  

  
  
  
  

 | 
show 1 more comment

I am reading A Gentleman in Moscow and on the first page of the book, count Rostov is being questioned by prosecutor Vyshinsky:

Vyshinsky: Before we begin, I must say, I do not think I have ever seen a jacket festooned with so many buttons.

Rostov: Thank you.

Vyshinsky: It was not meant as a compliment.

Rostov: In that case, I demand satisfaction on the field of honor.

I have a difficulty understanding where the humor is, even though I understand the literal meaning of field of honor. Is the count challenging the prosecutor to a duel, as he is not complimenting him?

meaning humor

share|improve this question

asked Mar 17 at 15:29

Xinting WANGXinting WANG

1045

share|improve this question

asked Mar 17 at 15:29

Xinting WANGXinting WANG

1045

share|improve this question

asked Mar 17 at 15:29

Xinting WANGXinting WANG

1045

asked Mar 17 at 15:29

Xinting WANGXinting WANG

1045

asked Mar 17 at 15:29

Xinting WANGXinting WANG

1045