sob of relief ?

[Meritzias]

Hello,

I didn’t have the breath for a sob of relief as I found a fork in the pathway and veered sharply left.

 

[Glasguensis]

And did you have a question ?

 

[Sparky Malarky]

Please state your source and tell us what your question is.

 

[Meritzias]

Sorry. Yes, I have a question.

What is the meaning of the sentence: "I didn’t have the breath for a sob of relief". (Is it somewhat like "I wouldn't waste my breath weeping.")

What is that 'sob' about 'relief' anyway? Something like 'feeling better after crying'?

Or I am totally on the wrong track?

 

[Meritzias]

"The crowd roared, drowning out the slurping and gnashing noises of the worm, but I didn’t dare a glance over my shoulder. The evernearing stench of it told me enough about how close it was. I didn’t have the breath for a sob of relief as I found a fork in the pathway and veered sharply left."

(Source: A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas)

 

[Glasguensis]

Here "sob" is being used like "sigh" - although "sob" is primarily associated with crying, it actually refers to the sharp intake of breath which is characteristic of a type of crying, but can also occur without the crying.
I was too out of breath to sigh with relief.

 

[Sparky Malarky]

Did you look up "sob" in the dictionary? sob - WordReference.com Dictionary of English

This sentence uses sob as a noun:
n

1. a convulsive gasp made in weeping

The speaker appears to be running for his life. If one was terribly frightened, he might be moved to cry at the relief of seeing a way to escape. At the very least, he might let out a single sob. But the speaker is running so fast that he doesn't even have enough breath to sob once.

 

[Meritzias]

Thank you. It' clear, now.

In English-Turkish dictionaries "sob" means only "hiccup". And I though that convulsive gasp made in weeping fitted to it, because "hiccup" (not "sob") is associated with crying in Turkish.

Then, as you can imagine, "hiccup of relief" didn't make any sense.



A last question: Can I use "a huff of relief" in the same sentence for the same context?

 

[Sparky Malarky]

You could, though it's not a common expression. It would sound odd.

 

[Meritzias]

You take a deep breath and let it out in a short and forceful exhalation to calm your breathing after you run, or to suppress your excitement just before getting on the stage.

What do you call that kind of short and forceful exhalation?

 

[Barque]

I don't think there's a specific term for that but you could say "He took a deep breath" and in context it'd be understood as meaning the person took a deep breath while preparing to do something involving significant effort.

 

[Meritzias]

What about that!

Just one paragraph later: "Now I didn’t have time for tears of relief as I found myself in another passageway, and I launched farther into the labyrinth."

Does this 'tears of relief' here bring a point of view to 'sob of relief' different than we agreed before?

 

[Barque]

It means much the same thing. The only difference, if any, is the length of time a person might devote to expressing relief. A sob of relief, to me, implies a quick, short sigh or gasp of relief, without time for anything more while "tears of relief" suggests the person was more relaxed and could sit down and have a good cry.

 

[Meritzias]

Perfect. Thank you very much.

 

[Barque]

Just to add - the passage you quoted referring to "tears of relief" suggests the person was out of immediate danger, and would normally have been able to relax for some time (and cry tears of relief) but decided he couldn't afford to, as he found himself in a passageway that was unfamiliar and that was taking him farther into the labyrinth.