Question

Read this excerpt from "The Open Boat" by Stephen Crane:

It is fair to say here that there was not a lifesaving station within twenty miles in either direction, but the men did not know this fact and in consequence they made dark and opprobrious remarks concerning the eyesight of the nation's lifesavers. Four scowling men sat in the dinghy and surpassed records in the invention of epithets.

What is the meaning of the word opprobrious within the context of the excerpt?

Answer 1

I think that in the excerpt opprobrious means expressing criticism or contempt. The men are stranded in a lifeboat and they think that there's a lifesaving station close enough to save them, if only the people in the station would open their eyes to see them. The men in the boat are making critical remarks about the lifesaving station that they feel should be already on their way to rescue them. In reality, they aren't as close to a lifesaving station as they think. I hope this helps. ^-^