tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post2596940884348374234..comments2024-03-16T00:21:43.240+00:00Comments on Separated by a Common Language: a week (from) tomorrow; Wednesday weeklynneguisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10171345732985610861noreply@blogger.comBlogger49125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-92057131073396528852020-10-11T01:17:45.562+01:002020-10-11T01:17:45.562+01:00(seeing another 2020 reply on this ancient topic s...(seeing another 2020 reply on this ancient topic so I'll just add) Welsh has an equivalent of the French huitaine, a week is "wythnos", literally "eight nights".an oxhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10330004025142473835noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-87651953016528315572020-08-15T13:53:54.131+01:002020-08-15T13:53:54.131+01:00BrE (Scot, 60+) I’m 100% with Townmouse on this. A...BrE (Scot, 60+) I’m 100% with Townmouse on this. A week tomorrow, a week from tomorrow and tomorrow week all mean the same, as I know when tomorrow is. Substitute Wednesday for tomorrow, and all these phrases become unclear, because I don’t know WHICH Wednesday is meant: the one just passed or the one approaching. And despite comments to the contrary, I have heard both options defended vigorously, usually it terms if “but it’s obvious”, or “everyone uses it that way”.<br /> Also, like Townmouse, if today is Tuesday or even Monday, next Wednesday is often not the first Wednesday to occur (i. e. NOT tomorrow if today is Tuesday), but the following Wednesday, so that Wednesday week can be over two weeks away. I always thought that “a week come Wednesday” was unambiguous, but I have known people misinterpret this usage as well. It’s safest to use a date.Shy-replyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01891566073375322808noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-33437324268844267302017-02-14T23:23:31.122+00:002017-02-14T23:23:31.122+00:00Mollymooly and Biochemist: I think that in Irish E...Mollymooly and Biochemist: I think that in Irish English the construction "this Wednesday coming" is more common than "this coming Wednesday". And if not more common, it is definitely common and, perhaps, much more so than in Britain.Ian Mac Eochagáinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08807587737403861042noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-36506534958479913002011-05-12T15:21:05.864+01:002011-05-12T15:21:05.864+01:00As regards quinze jours, quinzaine etc being illog...As regards quinze jours, quinzaine etc being illogical, it depends on your point of view. This is inclusive reckoning, as practised, for example, in musical scales: the *fifth* is the fifth degree of the diatonic scale *including* the root, though it's the fourth note after. Same when we say à huitaine, à quinzaine. Suppose it's the first of the month, so today fortnight is the 15th; the French expression simply reflects the total span, not the difference from today.Paul @ Paul Hallnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-80919368703175204532010-09-28T08:22:48.290+01:002010-09-28T08:22:48.290+01:00"you won't give a damn by Wednesday Week&..."you won't give a damn by Wednesday Week" - Elvis. <br /><br />The Undertones also had a song called Wednesday Week, referring to the past… "Wednesday week - she loved me Wednesday week - never happened at all"<br /><br />I wonder whether the reference to the past is more common in Irish English. I (BrE) am not sure when Wednesday Week would have been: A week ago on Wednesday? A week ago last Wednesday?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-73163792775053127162009-10-11T21:04:11.256+01:002009-10-11T21:04:11.256+01:00Flatlander & Robbie -
When I was in the US Arm...Flatlander & Robbie -<br />When I was in the US Army (1968-1970) I was paid monthly. Since then, most of the jobs I've held have paid biweekly (26 paydays per year), including my current employment. I have had some which paid semimonthly (24 paydays per year).<br /><br />Because of this variability, I would never assume that my Pay Periods were the same as my neighbor's.dbanoffhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17103299005527588981noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-45686629449021639512009-10-11T19:52:18.466+01:002009-10-11T19:52:18.466+01:00Further to biochemist and Robin:
'Wednesday of...Further to biochemist and Robin:<br />'Wednesday of next week' and 'Wednesday of this week' work well, as does 'this Wednesday coming', meaning, obviously, the first Wednesday to happen.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-44557651544363749932009-10-11T15:26:08.927+01:002009-10-11T15:26:08.927+01:00If someone talked to me about "pay periods&qu...If someone talked to me about "pay periods" I would assume lengths of time of about a month. Not exactly a calendar month, because then they would just say "month" -- but perhaps four-weekly periods, or the nearest Friday to the end of the month, or similar.<br /><br />I've never known anyone who got a regular wage at two-week intervals.Robbienoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-71172210991533490002009-10-10T03:00:12.573+01:002009-10-10T03:00:12.573+01:00The closest thing to "fortnight" in AmE,...The closest thing to "fortnight" in AmE, at least in budgetary contexts, is "pay period" -- as in "We spend $XX on gasoline each pay period." And then only if you get paid every two weeks (with some employers it's twice a month, some it's weekly, but "fortnightly" is pretty common).flatlanderhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14711270206823934186noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-59621211773968602842009-10-09T18:41:22.993+01:002009-10-09T18:41:22.993+01:00I always think that "Next Wednesday" (or...I always think that "Next Wednesday" (or whatever) is ambiguous, so I always qualify it by saying "Not <i>this</i> Wednesday, but <i>next</i> Wednesday." So I might say, "My parents are coming to visit not this Wednesday, but next Wednesday." I like "Wednesday next" better, but I've never heard that construction before. (AmE here)Robinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04807410189983092576noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-935118430182324842009-10-09T16:57:15.730+01:002009-10-09T16:57:15.730+01:00Mollymooly: I love your idea of 'Wednesday of ...Mollymooly: I love your idea of 'Wednesday of last/this/next week'.<br />Speaking on a Sunday or Monday, I (BrE) might say 'this coming Wednesday' for this week, and 'in ten days' time' when I refer to the Wednesday in next week - I thought the latter was a well-known BrE approximation but several people have replied - 'but that's nine days away, not ten!' So I will try Mollymooly's system from now on.biochemistnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-24563664923638996442009-10-08T22:34:38.170+01:002009-10-08T22:34:38.170+01:00@Julie: sorry, my question was, 'what do non-I...@Julie: sorry, my question was, 'what do non-Irish people say instead of "this day week"?'mollymoolynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-49646794698011874322009-10-07T04:13:18.879+01:002009-10-07T04:13:18.879+01:00@mollymooly: I don't know about elsewhere, but...@mollymooly: I don't know about elsewhere, but I would say: "(Tuesday)two weeks from today," or "three weeks from Wednesday," or another version of the same construction which counts forward from a day in the near future.Juliehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14376545097377854998noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-16137784170934135152009-10-07T01:32:26.519+01:002009-10-07T01:32:26.519+01:00Bimonthly can mean either twice a month, or every ...Bimonthly can mean either twice a month, or every two months.<br /><br />And, likewise, biweekly can mean every two weeks, or twice a week.<br /><br />Also, every two weeks, and twice a month, do <i>not</i> mean the same thing.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-71607410494133524442009-10-06T17:44:26.609+01:002009-10-06T17:44:26.609+01:00I (BrE) readily understand next Wednesday to be 7 ...I (BrE) readily understand <i>next</i> Wednesday to be 7 days after <i>this</i> Wednesday when speaking of the future, but when talking about the past, I would understand <i>next</i> to refer to the immediately following day of that name (because 'this' would make no sense, although possibly 'that' might). Example: 'On Monday he caught a chill and died the next Wednesday' would span just 3 days for me. <br /><br />@Richard Sabey. I did raise the issue of prepositionless days in AmE in an email to Lynne some time ago but as it has now been raised here without appearing to be too off-topic, can anyone explain which is the older: the American or British usage?Andy Jnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-87314816931217491112009-10-06T15:41:49.332+01:002009-10-06T15:41:49.332+01:00This is precisely the issue we had with bi-monthly...This is precisely the issue we had with bi-monthly.Solonoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-10475235934796555342009-10-06T13:31:29.817+01:002009-10-06T13:31:29.817+01:00The French equivalent for "fortnight" is...The French equivalent for "fortnight" is, illogically "quinze jours" (15 days!).<br /><br />Kate (Derby, UK)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-29994441881688616712009-10-06T10:53:31.535+01:002009-10-06T10:53:31.535+01:00"I used to insist that twice a month is '..."I used to insist that twice a month is 'semi-monthly' and 'bimonthly' should be every other month"<br /><br />They are! Alternatively, you can use biweekly. I used to write for a bimonthly (as opposed to biweekly) publication, so I'm just as pedantic on this point.Ginger Yellowhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06103410278129312943noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-32873704559077060362009-10-06T09:25:52.196+01:002009-10-06T09:25:52.196+01:00You may have been thinking of the distinction betw...You may have been thinking of the distinction between 'biennial' (once every two years) and 'biannual' (twice a year) perhaps? I don't know what the month equivalent would have been (bimenstrual?)townmousehttp://cityexile.wordpress.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-87419149125405102482009-10-05T22:12:29.188+01:002009-10-05T22:12:29.188+01:00Yes, but in my 14-year-old pedantry, I was adamant...Yes, but in my 14-year-old pedantry, I was adamant that there should be a 'bimonthly' and a 'semimonthly' and they should mean different things. <br /><br />Teenage logic defies fact.lynneguisthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10171345732985610861noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-82925442802680913332009-10-05T22:10:22.613+01:002009-10-05T22:10:22.613+01:00But Lynne, bi- suggests twice, so bi-monthly shoul...But Lynne, bi- suggests twice, so bi-monthly should mean twice monthly...Richard Sabeyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06707961497644079468noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-36219964219922002192009-10-05T21:42:56.863+01:002009-10-05T21:42:56.863+01:00OED s.v. next
sense A.5b:
Applied (without pre...OED s.v. <b>next</b> <br /><br />sense A.5b: <br /><br />Applied (without preceding <i>the</i>) to days of the week, with either the current day or (in later use; orig. <i>Sc.</i>) the current week as the implicit point of reference.<br /> Thus (for example) <i>next Friday</i> may mean ‘the soonest Friday after today’ or ‘the Friday of the coming week’. The latter may be indicated contextually, e.g. by contrast with <i>this</i>, but it is not always clear which meaning is intended. Cf. sense A.10c.<br /><br />**********************<br /><br />sense A.10: <br />Of a time, season, etc.: immediately following in time; coming directly after the time of writing, speaking, etc.<br /> In modern use, <i>the</i> next in senses A. 10a and A. 10c is capable of being construed as a postmodifying attributive adjective ...<br /><br />sense A.10c: <br />Applied to days of the week, with either the current day or (more usually) the current week as the implicit point of reference. Cf. sense A. 5a.<br /> In <i>Sc.</i> use sometimes contrasted with <i>first</i>.mollymoolynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-69265814995520713342009-10-05T20:45:19.800+01:002009-10-05T20:45:19.800+01:00@Solo, bi-monthly is all I can think of, though wh...@Solo, bi-monthly is all I can think of, though when I was young and pedantic (as opposed to now, when I am not young) I used to insist that twice a month is 'semi-monthly' and 'bimonthly' should be every other month. But I'm afraid that as a 14-year-old pedant, I wasn't listened to much. Imagine if I'd had a blog!lynneguisthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10171345732985610861noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-11550250738811510972009-10-05T20:01:51.367+01:002009-10-05T20:01:51.367+01:00I've (ScE) a feeling there may be a Scottish t...I've (ScE) a feeling there may be a Scottish to English difference in the use of "next". I'm sure I remember reading a definition of "next" in an English-Scots dictionary as "next but one" (is THAT contruction used in AmE?). Anyway, to me "next Wednesday" is, as already described by previous posters, Wednesday of next week, regardless of whether it is in the future or past.<br /><br />Oh, and surely the doctors would have to be not too highly literate to be confused between "borders" and "boarders"?Cameronnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-80424460662182060062009-10-05T16:01:05.790+01:002009-10-05T16:01:05.790+01:00I grew up in coastal North Carolina with expressio...I grew up in coastal North Carolina with expressions like "Wednesday week" -- meaning a week from this coming Wednesday. Today is Monday; if I said "Wednesday week I'm going to France" -- well that would be clear. I imagine the usage is not limited to coastal N.C. in the U.S.Ken Broadhursthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04430899802705818716noreply@blogger.com