What's the meaning of this sentence?
"She had learned that there was no point hanging around near the desserts waiting for them to run out of gas."

Here, "them" are two annoying men. She was just waiting for them to stop talking.

But what does "near the desserts" refer to??

Thanks a lot!"them" are two obese guys. Does "dessert" have the meaning of "overweight person" or something like that? just a guess. still don't understand:(the woman is a waitress still waiting to take their order. so i don't know why there suddently appears the desserts...
anyway, i really appreciate your answers. if you have any further suggestions, plz tell me. Thank you!

Question

What's the meaning of this sentence?
"She had learned that there was no point hanging around near the desserts waiting for them to run out of gas."

Here, "them" are two annoying men. She was just waiting for them to stop talking.

        But what does "near the desserts" refer to??

Thanks a lot!"them" are two obese guys. Does "dessert" have the meaning of "overweight person" or something like that? just a guess. still don't understand:(the woman is a waitress still waiting to take their order. so i don't know why there suddently appears the desserts... 
anyway, i really appreciate your answers. if you have any further suggestions, plz tell me. Thank you!

Answer

Dessert = 甜食 = what you eat after the main meal.
Sometimes the desserts are on show in a restaurant, on a table or behind glass. The girl would be waiting near the desserts for the two men to shut up and make an order.

Answer

Dessert - also called "pudding" or "afters" or "sweets" in British English.  It is the sweet course of the dinner.  For example, in a three course meal you would have

Course 1 - Starters or appetisers (eg. calamari)
Course 2 - Main meal (Steak, chips and peas)
Course 3 - Dessert (ice-cream!)

Desert - an area of hot, arid land - void of water and vegetation (normally covered in sand) eg the Sahara Desert.

In you sentence though, I guess desserts is correct.  They were hanging about (waiting, wasting time, loittering) near to (close to/not far from) the desserts (I assume an area with the sweet course displayed so that people can chose which they would like after their meal!).

Answer

It sounds like she was waiting in line to get some desserts after dinner.  I suppose there was a dessert table?  But these guys were in the way, talking.

Answer

dessert is a food that tastes good, so hanging near the desserts could mean that she was standing by a table of desserts.  It could also be a metaphor for something else. I would need a larger context of the passage your reading to know for sure.  Another possibility is that it was desert you read and not dessert, which would be a metaphor.  Tell me if I can help you with this sentence even further.

Answers · 4

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