To come undone

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Woods
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To come undone

Postby Woods » 2017-07-24, 20:23

I intended to ask long ago, but I completely forgot:

Can you guys define this expression for me, cause my dictionaries fall short of it?

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Re: To come undone

Postby n8an » 2017-08-03, 12:46

Woods wrote:I intended to ask long ago, but I completely forgot:

Can you guys define this expression for me, cause my dictionaries fall short of it?


If taken literally, it can refer to something physically falling apart. For example, if you tie your shoelaces and they untie themselves - you can say that your shoelaces have "come undone". This can really apply to most things that have been tied or stuck together.

In a less literal sense, you could use it to refer to something not going the way you had expected. For example, you could have made plans to go somewhere; but because the weather had been bad, your plans had "come undone".

You can also use it in the sense of your life or mind falling apart. Like, if you had lost your job/lover/house, you could say that your life was "coming undone", or if you were struggling to cope with things mentally, you yourself were "coming undone".

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Re: To come undone

Postby Woods » 2017-08-19, 11:51

Many thanks :)

I wasn’t able to work out the exact meaning in the figurative sense and it’s really not included in some otherwise very good dictionaries.

Now it makes sense. I can think of the following example from a song:

Bid my blood to run
Before I come undone
Save me from the nothing I’ve become…


(Evanescence – “Bring me to Life” – at least that’s the way the lyrics are transcribed over websites, and I can’t really hear – I’m not quite sure this “bid someone’s blood to run” is correct…)

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Re: To come undone

Postby n8an » 2017-08-19, 11:57

Woods wrote:Many thanks :)

I wasn’t able to work out the exact meaning in the figurative sense and it’s really not included in some otherwise very good dictionaries.

Now it makes sense. I can think of the following example from a song:

Bid my blood to run
Before I come undone
Save me from the nothing I’ve become…


(Evanescence – “Bring me to Life” – at least that’s the way the lyrics are transcribed over websites, and I can’t really hear – I’m not quite sure this “bid someone’s blood to run” is correct…)


You're welcome!

Evanescence :D

The first line is a bit hard to comprehend.

The second means something like "before I fall apart"

Another good song with "come undone" is this one :D

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4D35vfQ7eZg

This song and video might give you a better idea of what the phrase means, haha

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Re: To come undone

Postby vijayjohn » 2017-10-04, 5:48

Woods wrote:I’m not quite sure this “bid someone’s blood to run” is correct…

It's poetry. I interpret "bid my blood to run" to basically mean 'make my blood run'.

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Re: To come undone

Postby Woods » 2017-10-05, 20:09

bid /bɪd/ verb TELL
4. [ T ] bidding , bid or bade , bidden
old-fashioned to give a greeting to someone, or to ask someone to do something
[ + two objects ] They bade her good morning.
I must now bid you farewell (= say goodbye to you) .
literary She bade her hopes farewell (= She stopped being hopeful) .
[ + ( to ) infinitive ] He bade (= asked) them (to) leave at once.
(Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary Third Edition)


vijayjohn wrote:
Woods wrote:I’m not quite sure this “bid someone’s blood to run” is correct…

It's poetry. I interpret "bid my blood to run" to basically mean 'make my blood run'.

That's okay. I just can't hear if she really sings "bid" and the fact it's that way on various lyrics websites does not guarantee it's true. And since I'm not at all familiar with this verb, the sentence does not make much sense to me. Happens quite a lot with song lyrics by the way, including ones of famous bands :) Maybe you can hear if that's what she sings for sure?

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Re: To come undone

Postby Dormouse559 » 2017-10-25, 18:00

She does say "bid". The song is about bringing the speaker back to life, and "Bid my blood to run" is just another part of that metaphor (i.e., Get my heart beating, cause the blood to flow through my veins). Using "bid" in particular makes the process sound miraculous, as if the love interest can revive people with their words. "Bid" also makes a pleasant alliteration with "blood".
N'hésite pas à corriger mes erreurs.


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