cook up a very good one

English translation: he cooked up a good fire

17:32 Dec 15, 2023

English language (monolingual) [Non-PRO]
Art/Literary - General / Conversation / Greetings / Letters

English term or phrase: cook up a very good one

Hi everyone!
This is from J. Austen's Sanditon:

The situation is that three siblings, all of them -Arthur included- rather sickly, have just moved from a hotel to their lodgings...
"...Arthur had found the air so cold that he had merely walked from one house to the other as nimbly as he could, – and boasted much of sitting by the fire till he had cooked up a very good one.”

There is nothing in the context to suggest that Arthur cooked up something like a story. The young man is, though, lazy and fond of eating and drinking, and uses the familial tendency of hypochondria to mask his laziness.

I wonder if his cooking up a very good one has anything to do with his warming his bones by the fire, otherwise I have no idea what the sense could be and I haven't been able to find a clue, and I'd be grateful for any information.

Thank you

vitaminBcomplex KudoZ activity Questions: 249 (none open) (7 closed without grading) Answers: 0
Local time: 13:43

Selected answer:he cooked up a good fire

Explanation:
#

Selected response from:

Mikhail Kropotov
Germany
Local time: 12:43

Grading comment

Thank you very much, Mikhail.
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer

SUMMARY OF ALL EXPLANATIONS PROVIDED

4 +2

he cooked up a good fire

Mikhail Kropotov

Discussion entries: 2

Answers

28 mins confidence:

peer agreement (net): +2

he cooked up a good fire

Explanation:
#

Mikhail Kropotov
Germany
Local time: 12:43
Works in field
Native speaker of: Russian
PRO pts in category: 28

Grading comment

Thank you very much, Mikhail.

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cook up a very good one

English translation: he cooked up a good fire

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