Arthur: So, once we've made the plant, how do we get out? I'm hoping
you have something more elegant in mind than shooting me in the head?Cobb: A kick.
Ariadne: What's a kick?
Eames: This, Ariadne, would be a kick. [kicks Arthur's chair; Arthur flails but manages to right himself]
Cobb: It's that feeling of falling that jolts you awake. It
snaps you out of the dream.Arthur: Are we going to feel a kick with this kind of sedation?
Yusuf: Well, that's the clever part. I customize the sedative to leave inner ear function unimpaired. That way, however deep the sleep, the sleeper still feels falling, or tipping.
I want to understand the sentence starting with That way. This is the meaning provided by The Oxford Dictionary, but it seems totally nonsensical to me. There's no any homosexual context in Inception, I'm a little confused.
Best Answer
This is using the word way to mean "method or means to achieve a goal." That at the beginning of the sentence is directing our attention to the method just described. In this case, "that way" means "customizing a sedative to leave inner ear function unimpaired."
Example: I tied my shoes tightly every morning. That way I don't trip when I walk down the street. (That way = By tying my shoes tightly)
Example: Bill Gates lives in a luxurious mansion and is able to buy anything he wants without considering the price. I would love to live that way. (that way = in the manner that Bill Gates lives)
The usage that the Oxford Dictionary suggests is not common in US English at all. If you used that phrase it's possible that the listener might understand you, but it's also possible that he or she would have no idea what you meant.