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Reader question: Please explain this sentence: “Hey, buddie, can you see your way clear to lend me five bucks?” What does “see your way clear” mean exactly? My comments: The speaker begs to know whether his buddie can possibly find a way to do it, lending him (or her) two dollars. In other words, he wants to know if his friend is willing to do it. See you way “clear” implies that under the circumstances, his buddy probably could not see his way clear, i.e. finding it easy to lend the speaker the money without hesitation or some other difficulties. Let’s use another example. Say you and a companion are looking from a hill top down at a village in the far distance and you ask your companion whether he or she could find their way clear to walk to that village within an hour. Your companion may say: “If the road behind the woods is straightforward, I can do it; if the road as blocked by the woods and some other places where the roads are blocked by rocks and trees, it would probably take me, or anyone much longer.” Understandably, you agree with your friend, noting that as all the roads in this area seem to be zigzagging, like mountain roads are wont to be, there’s no reason to believe those parts that are blocked in view are any different. Hence, it may take longer time. Hence and therefore, the expression “see one’s way clear” implies there are difficulties or hindrances that may make it hard to accomplish a particular task. | 
