ShmoopTube
Where Monty Python meets your 10th grade teacher.
Search Thousands of Shmoop Videos
ELA Videos 174 videos
CAHSEE ELA 9.3 Ambiguities. Which of the following is an example of figurative language in the previous passage?
CAHSEE ELA 9.4 Ambiguities. Which of the following is not an example of symbolism?
CAHSEE ELA 9.5 Ambiguities. Which of the following statements about allegory is true?
CAHSEE ELA 3.2 Fluency 184 Views
Share It!
Description:
CAHSEE ELA 3.2 Fluency. What is the best way to describe the meaning of play it by ear in the previous sentence?
CAHSEE ELA 3.2 Fluency. What is the best way to describe the meaning of play it by ear in the previous sentence?
Transcript
- 00:03
Here's your shmoop du jour... Merrill wasn't sure when water polo practice
- 00:07
would be over, so he didn't want to buy movie tickets in advance; he told Ben they should
- 00:12
play it by ear instead. What is the BEST way to describe the meaning
- 00:16
of play it by ear in the previous sentence?
- 00:19
And here are the potential answers:
Full Transcript
- 00:25
What does "play it by ear" mean?
- 00:26
Ok, some ancient history. Not that ancient.
- 00:30
In the old days, when saloons had piano players instead of stereo speakers and iTunes playlists,
- 00:35
music was shared on sheet music.
- 00:39
But the best piano players could just HEAR the music and then play it -- that is, play it by ear.
- 00:44
Yeah, not this way.
- 00:46
This way.
- 00:48
The question is really about what's allegory and what's literal -- i.e. what's a phrase
- 00:52
that's a symbol for something else -- like play it by ear --
- 00:55
...meaning that we wait for each note to come and then... play it -- spontaneously.
- 01:01
Versus literal - which would be, yeah this.
- 01:06
When you play it by ear, you just play it as you feel it and see what comes.
- 01:11
Answer: A.
Related Videos
CAHSEE 1.1 English Language Arts Passage Drill. Which line is an example of a metaphor?
CAHSEE 1.3 Passage Drill. Which of the following is the best way to express the meaning of the word alumni in this sentence?
CAHSEE 1.2 Passage Drill. Which of these sentences from the story best illustrates the sensitive side of the narrator's nature?
CAHSEE 1.4 Passage Drill. What does the use of flashbacks accomplish in "Graduation"?
CAHSEE 1.5 Passage Drill. In this line from the story, the words buzz and pulsated suggest the crowd is...what?