Thread: to widespread disapproval

does it mean to destroy all disapprovals?
Thank you!

Originally Posted by Leof

does it mean to destroy all disapprovals?
Thank you!

Widespread disapproval means that many people disapprove. For instance, Bush's Dubai port deal met with widespread disapproval. Many Americans (even across party lines) disapproved.

(Not intended as a political statement - but the phrase "widespread disapproval" would mostly be heard in news reports, I think, so it seems a valid current example.)

Ah I see now! I just was confused by the word to. I understood.
Thank you very much demoiselle!

Originally Posted by Leof

Ah I see now! I just was confused by the word to. I understoon.

'Understoon'? You mean understand/understood?

What's the whole sentence of where you got 'to widespread disapproval' it sounds like there was more before.

surely I miswrote the word understood
And the following is the original phrase.

Three months later, to widespread disapproval, the Queen married the principal suspect of her husband's murder, James Hepburn.

the Queen is Mary Stuart Queen of Scots.
And when I read this phrase I firstly thought, that she married Hepburn to widespread disapproval where to widespread is a verb like рассеить. She did that to make what? - to widespread
Now I understood that words ,to widespread disapproval, means something like ,ко всеобщему недовольству, and word to is a preposition.
I see there is no verb like to widespread - only to spread.

Originally Posted by demoiselle

(Not intended as a political statement - but the phrase "widespread disapproval" would mostly be heard in news reports, I think, so it seems a valid current example.)

NO!!! I AM DEEPLY OFFENDED. YOU HAVE DEFAMED ME AND MY FAMILY. I SHALL HUNT YOU DOWN AND SUE YOU FOR BILLIONS OF DOLLARS!!!!!!!!! MAY YOUR SPOUSE LEAVE YOU FOR A BALD PIRATE AND MAY YOUR CHILDREN HAVE SIX EYES!!!!!!!!!!

Better a bald pirate than a bald ninja.

Leof: it's like "with widespread disapproval", but... we just don't say that for some reason.

Originally Posted by Seventh-Monkey

Better a bald pirate than a bald ninja.

Leof: it's like "with widespread disapproval", but... we just don't say that for some reason.

I've heard "with widespread disapproval" before! In most cases it seems to be used with the verbs "to meet" or "to greet." For example:
"The president's statements were met with widespread disapproval among senators."

or

"Mr. Smith's proposal for a restructuring of debt was greeted with widespread disapproval from shareholders."

I don't think you can even say to widespread as a verb.

I am going to widespread the manure now, Billy-Bob!
I am going to widespread this cream cheese on my bagel

Originally Posted by Leof

Three months later, to widespread disapproval, the Queen married the principal suspect of her husband's murder, James Hepburn.

This sentence does not sound correct. It sould be "with widespread disapproval".

Originally Posted by kwatts59

Originally Posted by Leof

Three months later, to widespread disapproval, the Queen married the principal suspect of her husband's murder, James Hepburn.

This sentence does not sound correct. It sould be "with widespread disapproval".

Sounds much better the way Leof quoted it to me. "With ~" makes it sound as though the disapproval were on her side; "to ~" makes her the subject.

Well, the book is made by
Barnes
&Noble
Books
N e w Y o r k

I thoght I can trust them

I suppose one could say: "The port deal debuted to widespread disapproval" or even "The port deal was greeted by widespread disapproval amongst the public" as well as "It met with widespread disapproval."

So the preposition is governed by the verb instead of being a part of the phrase "widespread disapproval", I guess.

I trust B&N books for cheap copies of EMMA and NORTHANGER ABBEY - but perhaps not for excellent editing?

Do a google search on "to widespread disapproval" and you will see how few hits you get.

Originally Posted by kwatts59

Originally Posted by Leof

Three months later, to widespread disapproval, the Queen married the principal suspect of her husband's murder, James Hepburn.

This sentence does not sound correct. It sould be "with widespread disapproval".

The original is fine!

The preposition "to" works here in the same way as:

He said, to my horror, that she was coming to the party.
To our dismay, the girl wet herself in the middle of the dance floor.
Suddenly, to everyone's surprise, they announced they were engaged to be married.

To be honest, Kwatts, I suggest you refrain from saying what sounds natural or unnatural in English, because clearly your grasp of the language is somewhat limited.

Lol! But yes, I also think there is nothing wrong with it.

thank you all who answered!

Originally Posted by TATY

He said, to my horror, that she was coming to the party.
To our dismay, the girl wet herself in the middle of the dance floor.
Suddenly, to everyone's surprise, they announced they were engaged to be married.

The above sentences sound perfectly natural to me.
"to" + possessive pronoun + noun

Three months later, to widespread disapproval, the Queen married the principal suspect of her husband's murder, James Hepburn.

This sentence does NOT sound natural.
"widespread" is not a possessive pronoun
On the other hand, you can say "to everone's disapproval"

or better yet "despite widespread disapproval"

hense I shall beware of widespread disapproval. In any sense of words.
I love the phrase anyway.

Originally Posted by kalinka_vinnie

Do a google search on "to widespread disapproval" and you will see how few hits you get.

That's bizarre, and not representative of how often it's encountered in other media, I assure you.