Can 'bridge out' mean 'connect' or 'reach out'?
Here's an example I have in mind:
The artist's latest exhibition aims to bridge out to diverse communities, connecting different cultural perspectives through her paintings.
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2Have you checked a dictionary? What does it say?– fevCommented Sep 27 at 9:17
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2@fev The dictionaries I can use are not at all instructive about this term. You might let us in on what those rarer works you are thinking about have in store. (not in M-W, OLD, Collins, Cambridge, not apparently in the OED (oed.com/search/dictionary/?scope=Entries&q=bridge+out), nor the SOED, nor in Word Reference, nor in Dictionary.com, nor in the Am Heritage Dictionary, nor in longman Dictionary; its is in the Urban dictioanry (urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=bridge%20out), but in adjectival use))– LPHCommented Sep 27 at 9:53
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1It's a metaphor. You can use it if you like. Although "build a bridge to diverse communities" is maybe better and certainly more standard.– Stuart FCommented Sep 27 at 11:03
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1It's a transparent synonym of and modelled on 'reach out to'. It perhaps hints at a great effort intended / made.– Edwin AshworthCommented Sep 27 at 11:59
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2@Greybeard, bridges themselves, once their construction is completed, are indeed static, but the action of building a bridge (which is one of the dictionary meanings of bridge as a verb) is not.– jsw29Commented Sep 27 at 20:35
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1 Answer
bridge out here is an example of creativity within the bounds of what English can do. It has been used like a phrasal verb.
- The artist's latest exhibition aims to bridge out to diverse communities.
To create a bridge between his/her works and other communities that may not be his/her own.
bridge out has the same grammar as fan out or spread out, for example.
The volunteers fanned out in pairs throughout the community.
