Subj : to pull the door to against
To   : August Abolins
From : Alexander Koryagin
Date : Thu Dec 26 2019 20:53:06

Hi, August Abolins! ->Alexander Koryagin
I read your message from 26.12.2019 21:00

-----Beginning of the citation-----
[snip]
With his hands still in his coat pockets he stalked by me into the hall,
turned sharply as if he were on a wire, and disappeared into the living-
room. It wasn't a bit funny. Aware of the loud beating of my own heart I
pulled the door to against the increasing rain.
----- The end of the citation -----

 AK>> Is "against" a verb?

 AA> What a strange sentence Fitzgerald is using! At first, I thought
 AA> this was a printing error. But lo and behold, it is exactly the
 AA> same in physical print. The sentence would sound better to me
 AA> without the "to" in front of "against" and still render the meaning
 AA> well enough.

 AA> But apparently, Fitz is using an archaic form of "against" as a
 AA> conjunction. The use of the word hear is to mean "in preparation of
 AA> time or a delay" or "to oppose" something.

 AA> I've read the book many years ago, and don't recall too many issues
 AA> like the above. I probably just assumed they were printing errors
 AA> and moved on.

I also tried to find some information on this account, and I found out that 
"pull to" is an idiom, and when used with "door" it means:

https://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/pull+to
-----Beginning of the citation-----
2. To drag, tug, or yank something shut. A noun or pronoun is used between 
"pull" and "to."
----- The end of the citation -----

So in normal language the sentence will look like this:

"... I closed the door because the rain was increasing."

Bye, August!
Alexander Koryagin
english_tutor 2019

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 * Origin: nntps://fidonews.mine.nu - Lake Ylo - Finland (2:221/360.0)

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