Hello, First of all, English is not my first language. I try to use google and online dictionaries but I haven't found an answer to this. If I for example would like to describe an animal carcass that is covered in flies, would this be a correct use of the word "awash": "The dead deer was awash in black flies." What I want to express in this case is a metaphor to waves coming to shore to indicate how the flies moved, that they will leave the carcass when they are done so to speak, and so on. Much like a wave. Would this then be correct? If not I would be very happy if someone could give similar constructs that I could use instead! Thanks a lot!
i'm not sure that word will do all you want it to... perhaps something like this would work better: the dead deer was alive with waves of black flies...
Thank you for your answers! I'm sorry that I was unclear but this was just an example, of course I would have to write a more detailed description to get all that information across. The question was if I can use this word in this way as a "start".
"Awash" is used figuratively in English to mean "flooded with", "covered with" and so on. So your sentence is correct, I just don't think it's a particularly good metaphor in this case. Mamma's suggestion is better. Personally I'd probably write "Waves of flies swarmed over the dead deer."
It's not just water that can form waves! Flies can form into waves of flies, and the waves can move in large numbers (one definition of "swarm"), so I reckon waves of flies can swarm.
I think 'awash' is similar to 'bathed'... as in: Anyways, yeah like, 'bathed in light'. I think awash means more covered than flies could be on a dead carcass. I like swarmed. I also like cloud, too. Such as: Good luck! J. J.
