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I searched everywhere for an explanation about this construct but couldn't find.

The construct is: "so adjective as to-infinitive". For example: "the kid was so brave as to amaze all his classmates."

I intuitively understand the meaning, but I avoid guessing as much as possible. Could someone please answer what is the meaning of that construct? Also, what's that sort of construct called?

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  • Duplicate of 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. This is not an "idiom", and means exactly what it says it means.
    – tchrist ♦
    Commented Aug 24, 2022 at 19:58
  • "1" treats "so as to", not "so [adjective] as to". So do "2", "3", "4", "5", and "6".
    – LPH
    Commented Aug 24, 2022 at 20:47

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Note that in your construct so also shows degree, extent:

to an indicated or suggested extent or degree (M-W)

In

The kid was so brave as to amaze all his classmates.

the amazement of the classmates is in fact the result/effect of the degree of the kid's bravery.

There is negligible difference between your example (which is more formal) and the variant with that

The kid was so brave that all his classmates were amazed.

There are contexts, however, when the two constructs do differ. Grammarphobia explains

The difference is clearer when the consequence or result is more stark, as in

(1) The dose was so large as to be fatal.

versus

(2) The dose was so large that it was fatal.

#2 is the stronger statement. Why is this? Because the “so … as” constructions indicate extent or degree, while the “so … that” constructions indicate an actual consequence—in other words, a theoretical versus a real result.

To put it more clearly, (1) says that the dose was so large that it was able to bring/could have brought death, whereas (2) makes it real, saying that the dose was so large that it provoked someone's death.

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The structure is "so...as." It's an idiom, which is why you are having a tough time figuring out what it means, what with idioms having a meaning that differs from what the sum of their words convey literally. The idiom "so...as" is defined by dictionary.com as:

  1. so as,
    a. with the result or purpose: to turn up the volume of the radio so as to drown out the noise from the next apartment.

The only difference between your example and the one given above is an adjective has been placed in between "so" and "as," as is often the case. That example given could just as well have been: "the volume of the radio was turned up so loud as to drown out the noise from the next apartment."

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  • So the example "the kid was so brave as to amaze all his classmates" means: the result of the kid's bravery was the classmates' amazement.
    – GEdgar
    Commented Aug 24, 2022 at 17:56
  • Yes, precisely. The amazement of his classmates was the result of his bravery, which may have resulted in other things, too, but if so, those aren't mentioned.
    – Benjamin Harman
    Commented Aug 24, 2022 at 17:56
  • On the other hand, maybe it means: the purpose of the kid's bravery was the classmates' amazement. I think "result" is more likely than "purpose", but we cannot tell from definition 29.
    – GEdgar
    Commented Aug 24, 2022 at 18:01
  • That's a possibility. How you would interpret it would depend on context. It's also worth mentioning that it's possible that the writer means both, is employing a double-entendre, that not only was their amazement the result of his bravery but also that the very reason he was so brave was for the purpose of amazing them, meaning he got the result that was he'd set to purpose.
    – Benjamin Harman
    Commented Aug 24, 2022 at 18:07
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    Yes, it's ambiguous. And yes, meaning both (or more) meanings is a standard technique in writing. Also, cause and effect are easy to mix up. The little words like so, as, is, to, the, that, ... are the ones that cause all the trouble; they're just nuts and bolts, but you gotta put them in the right places or the machine stops.
    – John Lawler
    Commented Aug 24, 2022 at 18:10

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