Out of <glee><thanks> for being <saved><rescued>

K

KsuKrazy

Member
Russian
Happy Monday every one!

I'm proofreading a fairytale written by a student of mine, and there are a few phrases I have zero clue how to say in proper English. My gut tells me there is no way somebody would say anything like this in English. However, I failed spectacularly trying to find a more idiomatic way to express the idea.

To cut the long story short, here are the phrases I really hope you could help me with.

Out of glee for being saved, the cat hugged the horse.
Out of thanks for being rescued, Red Cat invited Grey Horse to live with him

The phrases in question are in bold print.

Thanks in advance for your help.
 
    • Did the horse save the cat? Did Grey Horse rescue Red Cat?
     
    To me, the first one is not entirely wrong. I think I would prefer "joy at being saved" to "glee" ("glee" sounds a bit temporary and superficial).
    The second one would be "Out of gratitude for ...".
     
    Last edited:
    KsuKrazy said:
    Out of glee for being saved, the cat hugged the horse.
    Out of thanks for being rescued, Red Cat invited Grey Horse to live with him
    Click to expand...
    You're right in thinking both are a bit off. Aguas Claras, though he focuses on 'glee', also corrects 'for' to 'at', which I think is an essential change. I also agree with him in his doubts about 'glee' - perhaps because in normal use it often has the suggestion of a pleasure in which the discomfiture of others is a component. The formula 'In his...' would sound more natural to me : In his delight at being rescued, the cat hugged the horse.'

    I agree entirely with Aguas Claras about 'Out of gratitude' - the word after 'Out of' has to define a state of mind/feeling ; you can't say 'Out of thanks for A, he did B', though you might say 'As thanks for A (or, more likely, 'As a thank-you for A'), he did B'. Of course, both pachanga's suggestions are fine.
     
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