In "Of human bondage", by W. Somerset Maugham, there is a sentence in the conservation between Foinet and miss Price:
"Then it is my duty to tell you that you are wasting your time. It would not matter that you have no talent,
talent does not run about the streets in these days, but you have not the beginning of an aptitude. How long
have you been here? A child of five after two lessons would draw better than you do. I only say one thing to
you, give up this hopeless attempt. You're more likely to earn your living as a bonne a tout faire than as a
painter. Look."
I can't get the bold part, what does it mean? At first, I thought it's an idiom, but it's not.
Best Answer
For instances such as this one, the phrase in question can often be better understood by really paying attention to the surrounding phrases and using the context of the scene to reveal potential meaning.
So let's start with the first phrase of the sentence:
This is Foinet telling Miss Price that lack of talent isn't why they are a poor painter, insinuating that one can be a perfectly capable artist without natural talent.
Onto the next phrase:
Again, Foinet is reiterating that talent for painting isn't something that's commonly found in a given person, yet there are still plenty of painters.
And now the last portion of the sentence:
Foinet isn't admonishing Miss Price's lack of talent, but rather her inability to progress and learn. The following sentences then emphasize this point.