More than a bit like
- Thread starter Adam Cruge
- Start date
This is a kind of understatement involving various modifiers and qualifiers. Perhaps it's best to break it down and isolate each one.
1. he is a manipulative bastard.
2. he is like a manipulative bastard.
3. he is a bit like a manipulative bastard.
4. he is more than a bit like a manipulative bastard.
It's a rather complicated, ironical way of saying that he too is a manipulative bastard.
Hopes this helps; it's not easy to explain.
1. he is a manipulative bastard.
2. he is like a manipulative bastard.
3. he is a bit like a manipulative bastard.
4. he is more than a bit like a manipulative bastard.
It's a rather complicated, ironical way of saying that he too is a manipulative bastard.
Hopes this helps; it's not easy to explain.
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The meaning of the fragment is clear. I'll get to that in a moment. First, let's see if we can agree that the text in red in the first post is not a sentence. It lacks a verb. It looks like a long adjectival phrase in which the writer describes himself or herself.
Though more than a bit like = I am, however, something of...
a manipulative bastard in my own right = a controlling and despicable person myself.
This appears to be a comparison the writer makes to the recipient of the note she or he has sent or is sending. The sense of it is that the person on the receiving end is a "manipulative bastard", and that the writer shares that characteristic to more than a small degree.
Though more than a bit like = I am, however, something of...
a manipulative bastard in my own right = a controlling and despicable person myself.
This appears to be a comparison the writer makes to the recipient of the note she or he has sent or is sending. The sense of it is that the person on the receiving end is a "manipulative bastard", and that the writer shares that characteristic to more than a small degree.