Suggestions to avoid repetition

Tiny Nell

Two orangutans each hung by one incredibly long arm from a palm tree. In the hand of their free arm, they each clutched a side of Martha’s swing seat.

I'm not happy with the repetition of the word 'each' in the above extract. I had removed the first one, but it was suggested that it should be there. Any suggestions?

heather

'both' for 2nd 'each'?

or

In the hands of their free arms, they clutched either side of Martha’s swing seat.
(I think you need the plurals anyway, as otherwise it sounds like they're sharing the one arm.)

Phots Moll

Two orangutans hung by an incredibly long arm from a palm tree. They each clutched a side of Martha’s swing seat.

I think it'd be obvious the arm they hung from and the arm they clutched the seat with were different. 'Free' arm is less clear as they're both using both arms and don't have a free one.

Liz

Orangutans are too heavy to hang by one arm for any length of time, they are semi-brachiators as they need to have more than one limb attached to a tree as if they fall they break bones at best and die at worst.

Liz

(This is a suggestion to avoid extreme inaccuracy to the point of impossibility.)

Tiny Nell

They're not real, Liz. They are plastic.

Tiny Nell

But thanks for your concern for their welfare!

Claudia

Two orangutans each hung by one incredibly long arm from a palm tree. In the hands of their free arms, they clutched a side of Martha’s swing seat.

Or:

Two orangutans each hung by one incredibly long arm from a palm tree. With their free hands, they clutched a side of Martha’s swing seat.

DeneBebbo

How about this which implies they're each hanging by one arm:

Two orangutans hung by their incredibly long arms from a palm tree. With their free hand each clutched a side of Martha’s swing seat.

Liz

I'm always getting these complicated things to explain which can be misinterpreted! (I don't mean plastic/real!). I like Dene's as it's so simple.

Mrs Bear

I'd go with Dene's as you don't need to mention the hand as belonging to the arm - just the hand will do. (Where else would a hand be if not on an arm?)

DeneBebbo

(Where else would a hand be if not on an arm?)

Watch the Doctor Who story "The Hand of Fear" and you'll see where else a hand could be :-)

Mrs Bear

*hides behind sofa*

Tiny Nell

Choices, choices. I've tried them all out in the paragraph. Thanks, all. I think I'll go with yours, Dene. It says what I want it to and is nice and neat!

Liz, the plastic orangutans are still holding up well under the circumstances, you'll be pleased to know.

danfango

I like Dene's suggestion as it avoids the use of "one incredibly long arm", which implies one arm's longer than the other.

Just to play devil's advocate for a moment, is the palm tree bowed or growing at an angle? They tend to grow straight upwards, and their vertical trunks don't have branches, so I'm wondering what the orang-utans are actually hanging from...

Mrs Bear

Are there palm trees where orangutans live? Where's Liz?
(That implies that Liz is a) an orangutan or b) lost. Sorry.)

Tiny Nell

The palm tree is also plastic so it will have been made specially to accommodate said primate's limb.

Martha is a child who has everything -but company. She has a dream bedroom in a turret of Lottery Lodge (too detailed to describe here), a glass-walled circular playroom below it full of unique toys, a bathroom like an undersea kingdom, a voice-activated lift, a lit staircase where every step plays a different sound, a corridor where the walls are fish tanks, an internal chute... blah, blah, blah.

Her father employs a genius toy inventor. This unusual swing is just one of the many things in the grounds of Lottery Lodge. She also has a life-size (plastic) giraffe which is a slide and a see-saw for one which is an elephant trunk which goes up and down.

No animals were harmed in the making of this play area.

Claudia

Just to play devil's advocate for a moment, is the palm tree bowed or growing at an angle? They tend to grow straight upwards

Not where I lived in Fiji - most of my palm trees bowed...

danfango

That'll be down to all those pesky orang-utans swinging on them!

Tiny Nell

I've noticed that a few of you have hyphenated orang-utan.

I changed my un-hyphenated version to a hyphenated one when the dreaded red wriggly line appeared under my original word choice and the suggestion offered was hyphenated. I then Googled orangutans to make sure and, lo and behold, there was no hyphen so I went back to my original unhyphenated version.

I hate hyphens.

Liz

Lol! The new way of writing them is hyphenless which I found out 3 years ago while writing my book.

Tiny Nell

I knew you'd know! All's good in the hood with my plastic primates, then. They will remain hyphenless and weary-armed.

Claudia

When I wrote an article: The Man of the Forest, I had the same issues. I hyphenated: the editor took out my hyphens. 8-|

Lizy

Two orangutans hung from a branch . . . . clutching between them the seat ...

Tiny Nell

Choices, choices...

DeneBebbo

I knew you'd know! All's good in the hood with my plastic primates, then. They will remain hyphenless and weary-armed.

I think Orangutan without the hyphen looks better, but last night I noticed the TV guide magazine and on-screen guide used Orang-utan, so maybe the hypenated version is considered standard.

danfango

I don't usually like unnecessary hyphens but I favour that one. I think it's because without it, 'orangutan' looks like the first part of it should be pronounced the same way as 'orange', i.e. with the g sounding more like a 'jay' than a 'gee'.

Incidentally, does anyone else think Orang-U-Tan should be the name of a beauty parlour favoured by the likes of the Made In Chelsea brigade?

Betsie

....both clutched a side of.....