What is a “stray copy” of a book?












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What is the meaning of "stray copy" here?




At about six I tuned to Graeco Roman mythology, lead gradually by Hawthorne's "Wonder Book" and "Tanglewood Tales", and by a stray copy of "The Odyssey" legend in Harper's Half-Hour Series.











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  • From the Oxford Dictionaries Online—stray: not in the right place. So presumably it's a book that wasn't intended to be given to this child at six years old.

    – Peter Shor
    12 hours ago













  • Oh that makes sense, thank you.

    – Deniz
    12 hours ago
















0















What is the meaning of "stray copy" here?




At about six I tuned to Graeco Roman mythology, lead gradually by Hawthorne's "Wonder Book" and "Tanglewood Tales", and by a stray copy of "The Odyssey" legend in Harper's Half-Hour Series.











share|improve this question























  • From the Oxford Dictionaries Online—stray: not in the right place. So presumably it's a book that wasn't intended to be given to this child at six years old.

    – Peter Shor
    12 hours ago













  • Oh that makes sense, thank you.

    – Deniz
    12 hours ago














0












0








0








What is the meaning of "stray copy" here?




At about six I tuned to Graeco Roman mythology, lead gradually by Hawthorne's "Wonder Book" and "Tanglewood Tales", and by a stray copy of "The Odyssey" legend in Harper's Half-Hour Series.











share|improve this question














What is the meaning of "stray copy" here?




At about six I tuned to Graeco Roman mythology, lead gradually by Hawthorne's "Wonder Book" and "Tanglewood Tales", and by a stray copy of "The Odyssey" legend in Harper's Half-Hour Series.








meaning






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asked 12 hours ago









DenizDeniz

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  • From the Oxford Dictionaries Online—stray: not in the right place. So presumably it's a book that wasn't intended to be given to this child at six years old.

    – Peter Shor
    12 hours ago













  • Oh that makes sense, thank you.

    – Deniz
    12 hours ago



















  • From the Oxford Dictionaries Online—stray: not in the right place. So presumably it's a book that wasn't intended to be given to this child at six years old.

    – Peter Shor
    12 hours ago













  • Oh that makes sense, thank you.

    – Deniz
    12 hours ago

















From the Oxford Dictionaries Online—stray: not in the right place. So presumably it's a book that wasn't intended to be given to this child at six years old.

– Peter Shor
12 hours ago







From the Oxford Dictionaries Online—stray: not in the right place. So presumably it's a book that wasn't intended to be given to this child at six years old.

– Peter Shor
12 hours ago















Oh that makes sense, thank you.

– Deniz
12 hours ago





Oh that makes sense, thank you.

– Deniz
12 hours ago










1 Answer
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A stray copy of a book is one left lying around, on a table perhaps, or in a drawer, not one in a bookcase standing beside other books where it belongs. It is a figure of speech (weakened by much use into the mere memory of one) in which the book is likened to an animal that has wandered from the herd or flock. It is a copy that one has come upon by accident or serendipity, not one that has been deliberately taken from the shelf.






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    A stray copy of a book is one left lying around, on a table perhaps, or in a drawer, not one in a bookcase standing beside other books where it belongs. It is a figure of speech (weakened by much use into the mere memory of one) in which the book is likened to an animal that has wandered from the herd or flock. It is a copy that one has come upon by accident or serendipity, not one that has been deliberately taken from the shelf.






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      A stray copy of a book is one left lying around, on a table perhaps, or in a drawer, not one in a bookcase standing beside other books where it belongs. It is a figure of speech (weakened by much use into the mere memory of one) in which the book is likened to an animal that has wandered from the herd or flock. It is a copy that one has come upon by accident or serendipity, not one that has been deliberately taken from the shelf.






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        A stray copy of a book is one left lying around, on a table perhaps, or in a drawer, not one in a bookcase standing beside other books where it belongs. It is a figure of speech (weakened by much use into the mere memory of one) in which the book is likened to an animal that has wandered from the herd or flock. It is a copy that one has come upon by accident or serendipity, not one that has been deliberately taken from the shelf.






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        A stray copy of a book is one left lying around, on a table perhaps, or in a drawer, not one in a bookcase standing beside other books where it belongs. It is a figure of speech (weakened by much use into the mere memory of one) in which the book is likened to an animal that has wandered from the herd or flock. It is a copy that one has come upon by accident or serendipity, not one that has been deliberately taken from the shelf.







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        edited 12 hours ago

























        answered 12 hours ago









        TRomanoTRomano

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