Poll: 'Draw the curtains' means?

[bainbridge]

It is obviously the term used to close them.

The day doesn't draw to an opening, but it draws to a close.

You friend is a buffoon.

 

[markweatherill]

If they are closed, you can open them by drawing them open.

If they are open, you can close them by drawing them closed.

Of course, if it was dark, you would open the light.

 

[FoxEye]

Time only goes in one direction...

'Draw' in this context means simply to move along a path or course ('the course of time' in your example).

The only reason 'draw to an opening' doesn't make sense here is because time goes forwards, never back.

You most definitely /can/ draw curtains open. You can also draw them closed. Both are very much valid. When you draw them in either direction you are simply pulling them along a track, which is what draw means in this context.

 

[ubersonic]

It is obviously the term used to close them.

The day doesn't draw to an opening, but it draws to a close.

You friend is a buffoon.

They're both wrong, drawing the curtains means both opening and closing them, the intended meaning of it is dictated by the current state the curtains are in.

An example is that regular doors can be closed/opened, but sliding doors can be slid, if somebody talks about sliding the door then it's current state dictates wither they mean to close/open it.

 

[Cosimo]

Draw back is to open.

 

[Jono]

Draw / Draw back - is what it means to me, which is the same as OED definition. Therefore I'm correct and in in that I am unanimous

 

[Mat]

The butler told me not to worry myself with such things and asked me if I wanted some tea brought to the drawing room.

I guess we'll never know.

 

[Hagar]

Draw this discussion to a close.

/thread

 

[MouthBoy]

I always say to 'draw them' in the morning and 'pull them to' in the evening...

 

[Ayahuasca]

Both

 

[jkb]

I don't like curtains at the window

For me it means close them.

 

[dirtychinchilla]

This poll is definitely wrong.

You draw the curtains to open them.

You draw the curtains to close them...

Doesn't matter which! If they're open or closed, you get asked to draw them and you'll do the right thing...

 

[Wizzfizz]

It is obviously the term used to close them.

The day doesn't draw to an opening, but it draws to a close.

Yup!

 

[dirtychinchilla]

But you could draw a card to begin a game.

 

[eatcustard]

Close the curtains


http://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/definition/english/curtain_1

 

[Pudney]

It's interesting people arguing the dictionary definition is wrong.

 

[Yaayuh!]

Close.

As in "draw in" surely? But yes, i can see how it could well be both. I never use the term anyway.

 

[The Dread Pirate]

Call me old fashioned but surely ...

Jesting aside, it comes from "The show is drawing to a close" and at the end you would "draw" the curtains to a close.

5/10

Nice lines however lack of Roary(Le Avec Dino) limits your score to 5.

 

[FoxEye]

Close the curtains


http://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/definition/english/curtain_1

Interesting, that you quote a dictionary and also at the same time arrive at a totally different meaning?

From the link you quoted - emphasis mine:

to draw/pull/close the curtains (= to pull them across the window so they cover it)
to draw/draw back/pull back the curtains (= to open them, so that the window is no longer covered)

What this means is that 'draw' on its own - not even 'draw back' - can also mean to /open/ the curtains.

 

[FoxEye]

But you could draw a card to begin a game.

Totally different meaning/context. To draw a card is the same as drawing water from a well... meaning to extract.

'Draw' is one of those words with a billion different meanings.