| straddle [sth]⇒ vtr | (span) | [etw] spannen Vt |
| A bridge straddled the gorge. | ||
| Eine Brücke spannte über der Schlucht. |
The translation is transitive but the example uses the verb intransitively.
straddle [sth] vtr
| US, figurative (be equivocal about) | von [etw] hin- und hergerissen sein VP | |
| keine klare Position zu etwas beziehen VP | ||
| The senator was straddling the question. | ||
| Der Senat war von der Frage hin- und hergerissen. |
Doesn’t hin- und hergerissen sein mean that you can’t make up your mind, are torn, or have mixed feelings? The English means that you’re deliberately being unclear or ambiguous, that you’re avoiding something.
