前の前の?

WonkoTheSane · 15 Dec 2015

During my course on post-war Tokyo the professor mentioned the book 三四郎 as a good way of starting to understand some aspects of how things changed so I'm poking at the text I found here: 夏目漱石三四郎

I ran quickly (second sentence...) into a bit I don't understand:
このじいさんはたしかに前の前の駅から乗ったいなか者である。

What does the 前の前の駅 mean here? Is it as simple as "two stations ago/back?" Or is it that because the author was dozing (as stated in the previous sentence) it's more like "a station we stopped at a while ago" in the same way that 昔々 is "long ago?"

Also, am I reading it correctly as まえのまえの駅？

Thanks!

Mike Cash · 15 Dec 2015

Two stations back and you're reading it right.

Don't overlook the significance of たしかに

WonkoTheSane · 15 Dec 2015

Mike Cash said:
Don't overlook the significance of たしかに

You read my mind.

I admit I glossed over it as something along the lines of "certainly" which reinforced my idea that it was while the author was dozing. Be so kind as to point me in the right direction?

Mike Cash · 15 Dec 2015

たしかに here indicates certainty that it was two stations back that the old bumpkin boarded the train. The phrasing allows for no doubt.

Hoge · 15 Dec 2015

Incidentally, 前の前の奥さん means an "ex-ex-wife".

WonkoTheSane · 15 Dec 2015

Mike Cash said:
たしかに here indicates certainty that it was two stations back that the old bumpkin boarded the train. The phrasing allows for no doubt.

Thanks very much!

Mike Cash · 16 Dec 2015

Hoge said:
Incidentally, 前の前の奥さん means an "ex-ex-wife".

Do you mean two wives ago? Or do you mean a previous wife you have remarried and who is your current wife?

Hoge · 16 Dec 2015

Mike Cash said:
Do you mean two wives ago? Or do you mean a previous wife you have remarried and who is your current wife?

Two wives ago. I'm not sure if ex-ex-wife in this sense is a correct English.

The opposite:
次の次の駅
次の次の奥さん

Mike Cash · 16 Dec 2015

Hoge said:
Two wives ago. I'm not sure if ex-ex-wife in this sense is a correct English.

The opposite:
次の次の駅
次の次の奥さん

"ex" cancels what comes afterwards. So an "ex-ex-wife" would be a woman one had previously divorced and subsequently remarried. Of course, you would never hear such a term used except jokingly....and never in front of the ex-ex-wife.

OoTmaster · 16 Dec 2015

We tend to start with ex-wife for the most current, then we start with numbers. So if she was the one you married first and you've had five you would refer to the first one as your first wife. Second, third, fourth, ex-wife, wife, and in some cases next wife.

Hoge · 16 Dec 2015

Mike Cash said:
"ex" cancels what comes afterwards. So an "ex-ex-wife" would be a woman one had previously divorced and subsequently remarried. Of course, you would never hear such a term used except jokingly....and never in front of the ex-ex-wife.

I see. A good lesson to me. Thank you, Mike.
I met my wife while working at my 前の前の前の会社

Mike Cash · 16 Dec 2015

Hoge said:
I see. A good lesson to me. Thank you, Mike.
I met my wife while working at my 前の前の前の会社

Were you just restless or were you hoping you'd find a better girl at the new places?

前の前の?

WonkoTheSane

先輩

Mike Cash

骨も命も皆此の土地に埋めよう

WonkoTheSane

先輩

Mike Cash

骨も命も皆此の土地に埋めよう

Hoge

破落戸

WonkoTheSane

先輩

Mike Cash

骨も命も皆此の土地に埋めよう

Hoge

破落戸

Mike Cash

骨も命も皆此の土地に埋めよう

OoTmaster

先輩

Hoge

破落戸

Mike Cash

骨も命も皆此の土地に埋めよう

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