I should suspect of carrying...

C

chobalsim

Banned
India-Hindi
There is a daughter of fifteen with ditto eyes and hardly any drapery above the waist who I should suspect of carrying a sharp poignard in her stays, but for not appearing to wear any.

Is "poignard" a misspelling for "poinard?"
(By the way, is "A is a misspelling for B" a correct sentence?)
Could I paraphrase the latter part this way?
--She looked not to wear anything. But if she looked wear something I might think she was carring a sharp knife.
But if my translation is right, still it doesn't make sense to me.
 
    • Paraphrase: "...I might have expected her to be carrying a knife in her bra, but (I didn't because) it looked like she wasn't even wearing one."

    I think your spelling assumption is correct.

    Usually you say A is a misspellinf 'of' B.
     
    This is a poignard, apparently. Let me try and see if I can make sense of the sentence:
    "A girl of fifteen with small round eyes and wearing very little on top, who I would think has a long knife hidden in her corset, if she would be wearing one."
    But please wait for other options.
    Bye then.
     
    The "stays" are a reference to an undergarment, such as a corset or a bra. I believe what the author is saying is that she looked dangerous enough to be the type who would hide a dagger in her bra, but that she is apparently not wearing any bra. In other words, she's walking around with no visible means of support. ;)
     
    Remembering my Shakespeare, I believe "poingnard" is correct--it means, I believe, "dagger" or some other sharp instrument to be used as a weapon.
    "By the way, is "A is a misspelling for B" a correct sentence?"
    Yes. But "of" might be more usual than "for."
    She looked not to wear anything.
    She seemed not to be wearing anything. Or
    It appeared that she wasn't wearing anything.
     
    Thank you, Guy., daniel., James., and cyber.
    Now I have to add "stays" and "poignard" to my vocabulary!
    I really appreciate your answers. :)
     
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