| 词组 | by means of |
| 释义 | by means of Copperud 1970 quotes himself and Bernstein 1965 as finding by means of "redundant" for by or "some other preposition." This assertion is illustrated by an example sentence of great simplicity in which in or with is suggested as a substitute. But of course by means of did not come into use to vex editors pressed for space. By means of is, in fact, seldom used in very simple sentences and is often used precisely to avoid a simpler preposition when the simpler one might be ambiguous—by, for instance, has ten or a dozen meanings shown in Webster's Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary. Consider these examples: • ... the exploration of Palestine's rich past by means of material remains left behind by the Jews of Biblical times —Current Biography, February 1966 • ... on the ... mosaic two scenes are telescoped into one by means of an awkwardly posed single figure doing double duty —Times Literary Supp., 18 Dec. 1969 • All I hope is that I will not gloss over my puzzlement by means of an overheated "literary" rhetoric — Irving Howe, Harper's, March 1969 It may be generally true that shorter is better, but longer can be clearer, especially if the shorter preposition is capable of several interpretations and the longer of only one. |
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