S.J (asker) Jul 23, 2020:

Thank you all.

Yvonne Gallagher Jul 20, 2020:

Not really. She just said, " there, I've given you an opening so away you go..."

S.J (asker) Jul 20, 2020:

But she used past tense!

Yvonne Gallagher Jul 20, 2020:

@Asker Yes, or simply:over to you...

S.J (asker) Jul 20, 2020:

@ Yvonne
So I can replace it by "It is your turn" or "It is your chance to express your feelings"?

Yvonne Gallagher Jul 20, 2020:

@ Tony Thanks Tony. Yes, incomplete context can send us all off on wild goose chases LOL

Tony M Jul 20, 2020:

@ Yvonne I hadn't quite got my head round Asker's at that time incomplete context, and the idea of a marginally different interpretation occurred to me...

Yvonne Gallagher Jul 20, 2020:

@ Asker "Opening" has to mean chance or opportunity for him here (a way for him to get back with her). So, she says she had the worst Christmas (sub-text ... because you were not here and i was missing you...) and then says (there's your) opening (=opportunity/chance/way) Sub-text: IF you're interested in getting back with me, all you have to say is "yes, it was my worst Christmas too because I was missing you....Why don't we get back together since we are so miserable apart?

Yvonne Gallagher Jul 20, 2020:

@ Tony You now seem to be saying what I've been saying from the beginning. And I don't really understand why you went on the meander?

Tony M Jul 20, 2020:

@ Asker Well, on the information you've given us so far, I'd say not really.
So far, she has only presented the problem — thus there is no 'initiative' for him to think anything about.
I think now, then, that she is saying that her Christmas was spoilt because she missed him (but can't quite bring herself to say so in as many words), and she is inviting him to now say "Yes, mine too, we were silly to break up — let's get back together again!" — she's passing the ball over into his court, with a view to 'opening negotiations'

S.J (asker) Jul 20, 2020:

She means that she had worst Christmas because of the break-up. So it could mean "This is my initiative, what do you think of?"

Tony M Jul 19, 2020:

@ Asker Not really, I don't think: that would more usually be something like "I'm opening up about what a horrible Christmas I had"
What we need to know is if she broke it off because they had a horrible Christmas together; or if her Christmas was horrible because they broke up (or she was preparing to break the news).
It sounds now to me more like 'opening' is being used in the sense of the first part of an exchange — like an opening in chess, say. And cf. 'an opening gambit'.
In other words "I told you that in order to open the possibility of discussing this further." She adds 'by the way' just to make sure he knows she wants to talk about the situation. An 'opening' for him to broach the subject further...

S.J (asker) Jul 19, 2020:

The dialogue is after Christmas, and they broke up at Christmas. Could it mean "I'm talking frankly and admit about having worst Christmas ever."

Tony M Jul 19, 2020:

@ Asker Everything here hinges on the timing, which affects how we interpret it all.
Did she break up with him BEFORE Christmas, and hence spent 'the worst Christmas of her life' because he wasn't with her? In which case, yes, it is strongly implying that she is using this as an explanation that she missed him, and hence ofeering the chance (opening) to get back together.
If it were that she broke up with him AFTER Christmas, because it had been so bad, it is less easy to see how this could be an 'opening'...

Yvonne Gallagher Jul 19, 2020:

@ Asker "give someone an opening" in this type of context means you are making it easier for them to say something, or apologise, or make amends, or explain etc. Giving them a chance to speak, to "open up" about something...