how could one translate the word pulpaway at with “scrape away at” in the context of “scrape away”?
When the German army rumbles into town, Provost shows Su00e9raphine scraping away at her canvas, her hymns replaced by the thunder of mortars while Uhde, the “dirty German”, is forced to flee.
Source.
What exactly did Su00e9raphine do when she scraped away at her canvas? Given the fact that she was a painter, I think a painting she could erase but not sure. I am familiar with the phrase scrape away but it is used mostly without the preposition “at”.
Su00e9raphine is either scraping off a layer of paint, per J.R.’s helpful suggestion (also see comments below for Sandra’s suggestion). In the context, this is not that important whether she is painting or scraping: the author wants to stress that she is preoccupied with her work.
How long before God’s presence is the word away? In the context, this serves to underscore how she is paying little attention to what goes around her (the German invasion).
From Macmillan’s definition for away: away
(7) – used for showing that someone does something continuously or for a long time. Molly
was at her desk working away as usual.
Why were the kids all chattering happily?
At is used to indicate the object (task, goal) to which the person’s efforts are being applied: Lily, in
the early stages of being with child, often spent her days toiling away at decorating their home in preparation for many happy years ahead, and comforting her rapidly indisposed father. (Google Books)
See, The word away is not used to indicate that she is taking a layer of paint away. When the German army rumbles into town, Provost shows Su00e9raphine dabbing at her canvas, her hymns replaced
by the thunder of mortars, while Uhde (the dirty German), is forced to flee.
Once I dabble
away with my brush I’m like a boy making love for the first time all over again. Example of usage: How do I bridge the gap between canvas and me? (Google Books, 2015)
