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For international readers, in US English 'table' means 'postpone', whereas in British English it means 'to present for discussion' which has almost the opposite
by afandian 11y ago
For international readers, in US English 'table' means 'postpone', whereas in British English it means 'to present for discussion' which has almost the opposite meaning!
- toyg 11y agoI've never seen 'table' being used as 'postpone' by any American, either in literature or on the intertubes; is it some sort of professional / niche usage?
- DennisP 11y agoIt's used that way in meetings run under Robert's Rules. To table is to put off a decision until a future meeting.
- anonymousab 11y agoManaged to find the wiki article on it: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Table_(parliamentary_procedure)#Difference_between_American_and_British_usage https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Table_(parliamentary_procedure...
- deleted 11y ago[deleted]
- earlz 11y agoI'm american, and I've definitely seen it used "Alright, let's just table the issue" implying "let's come back to that issue later". I can't say that the slang makes any sense, but that's slang for you heh 1: http://english.stackexchange.com/questions/16285/what-is-the-meaning-of-the-expression-we-can-table-this http://english.stackexchange.com/questions/16285/what-is-the...
- branchless 11y agoYou guys do use "leave it on the table" a lot.
- RodericDay 11y agoLeave money on the table?
- bovermyer 11y agoI rarely/never use that phrase, but I've often used "let's just table it" to mean "put off indefinitely until we forget about it."
- whiskeyz 11y agoWhere I'm at we "shelf" ideas or issues and they most definitely get forgotten.
- deleted 11y ago[deleted]
- mc32 11y agoLeave [something] on the table means to forgo, give up, not take advantage, etc. It's a bit different than tabling. For me tabling has both meanings, depending on context, could mean schedule or postpone, depending on the context of the discussion.
- jonkiddy 11y agoI'm an American. The use of "table" in colloquialisms while participating in meetings has many different distinctions/meanings. "let's put it all on the table" - I would like for you and I to be completely honest with each other, even if I don't like what you are about to say. "let's table that" - I would like for you to remember what you wanted to say, but please don't say it now. Also, talk to me later in a separate discussion if what you wanted to say is still relevant. "it's off the table" - That particular item/thought is no longer relevant to the discussion, please ignore it. "clear the table" - Please get ready to discuss something entirely new of a higher priority. Or, I would like to start the same discussion over, but this time I have a better understanding of what I would like to communicate.
- Declanomous 11y agoI'm American, and I generally understand 'to table a debate' to mean 'suspend discussion'. Use of the word 'suspend' is probably more common in informal use, but I often hear 'table' used to mean 'suspend discussion' when the point of the discussion is to reach a formal decision. For instance, my local paper might report that 'discussion on the proposed ordinance was tabled after hours of heated debate at City Council'. If we've been talking about a point for too long without reaching a conclusion at work, somebody might suggest we table it. I first encountered the 'present for discussion' meaning in Model U.N., which I found very confusing. The BBC World Service uses that meaning, which is extremely confusing when they are reporting on American politics.
- freehunter 11y agoIt comes from our legislature, but it's been adopted into somewhat common parlance in business. Normal people wouldn't say it in casual conversation, though.
- dhimes 11y agoYes, in formal meetings, to "Table the issue" means to agree to stop talking about it until later. It then becomes part of "unfinished business" on future agendas.
- kedean 11y agoStrangely, "bring the issue to the table" means the opposite.
- stephenhuey 11y agoWinston Churchill wrote about a misunderstanding during World War 2 which was caused by the different meanings for this expression: The enjoyment of a common language was of course a supreme advantage in all British and American discussions. The delays and often partial misunderstandings which occur when interpreters are used were avoided. There were however differences of expression, which in the early days led to an amusing incident. The British Staff prepared a paper which they wished to raise as a matter of urgency, and informed their American colleagues that they wished to "table it." To the American Staff "tabling" a paper meant putting it away in a drawer and forgetting it. A long and even acrimonious argument ensued before both parties realized that they were agreed on the merits and wanted the same thing. You'll see that in the 3rd paragraph on this page: https://books.google.com/books?id=zVdux2KfenoC&lpg=PP1&dq=winston%20churchill%20table%20second%20world%20war%20grand%20alliance&pg=PA609#v=onepage&q&f=false https://books.google.com/books?id=zVdux2KfenoC&lpg=PP1&dq=wi...
- Mikeb85 11y agoInteresting bit of history. The usage I've heard is that 'tabling' means to postpone, putting something on the table means to present something. Generally just 'table' means, well a table. Then again, Canadian here.
- slavik81 11y agoI'm a Canadian too, but my understanding matched the British usage. Newspapers are full of stuff like this quote from The Globe and Mail: "Mr. McCallum told reporters Tuesday that the government will table its annual immigration report before March 9."
- Mikeb85 11y agoHmm, guess I need to read more newspapers. I do find though that as time goes on our language tends to use both American and British spellings/meanings seemingly at random, due to the various influences (plus a few Canadianisms).
- capote 11y agoI see it used as such all the time in professional interactions.
- wtvanhest 11y agoI use it, but if it is a niche, its likely a geographic one. I am from Florida originally, so it may be a mid west or north east term.
- ocschwar 11y agoNo. That is specifically what it means for parliamentary proceedings in the US. Any discussion that's postponed for another time under Robert's Rules of Order is done so with a "motion to table." (BTW: what's the British counterpart to Robert's Rules?)
- takno 11y agoErskine May seems equivalent
- e40 11y agoIt is very common and I've used and seen it used many, many times over my lifetime.
- stouset 11y ago"Let's table this discussion for later" is a pretty common phrase.
- djsumdog 11y agoI'm a native US speaker and I've heard that usage all the time! "Let's table this until later."
- Zigurd 11y agoHas a different meaning on reddit. I wonder what that does for the relative prevalence of each usage.
- samstave 11y agoWow I never knew that
- Kurtz79 11y agoInteresting, first time I hear it (I'm not a native speaker, but I have a lot of meetings with Americans), but Mr. Merriam and Mr. Webster definitely seem to agree with you: http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/table http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/table
- Normal_gaussian 11y agoAs do the institutions of Oxford and Cambridge http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/table http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/table http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/table http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/table Interestingly it seems that the example usages provided in all the dictionaries would serve both meanings of the word.