Out of shot, and out of the way, sit France’s 35,000 bistros.
independent.co.uk/news/world … 11570.html
- The author considers launch habits of Brits compared to those of French. What did he mean by “out of shot”?
Thank you.
If you take a photograph of a scene, and something is outside the frame of that photograph, then it is said to be “out of shot”. In this case there seems not to be any actual photograph, and “out of shot” presumably just means “not visible”.
So, if I took it right, the author fronts the idea of bistros being reachable in every corner of France and favours al fresco rather than ‘al desco’ lunch. Reasonably enough, I think.
Thanks, Dozy.
Just to expand on my previous post in case it was not completely clear…
In the second paragraph, the author describes a scene in which tourists stand outside boulangeries, charcuteries, etc. in a provincial French tourist town. As I read it, “out of shot” means that the bistros are not prominent in that scene; in other words, the tourists are in one place concentrating on the shops that are closed, while the shops’ proprietors are elsewhere in the bistros.
It seems, I’ve got it, at last.
Ask a question and you’re a fool for three minutes; do not ask a question and you’re a fool for the rest of your life."