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In British English, "The waiter will be with you momentarily" means the waiter will be with you and then leave very quickly afterwards.
by kiplkipl 6y ago
In British English, "The waiter will be with you momentarily" means the waiter will be with you and then leave very quickly afterwards.
- Johnjonjoan 6y agoLiterally yes but contextually no. Momentarily describes the period until the waiter arrives in this context.
- OJFord 6y agoOnly in America, which is the point GP is making. AmE: in a moment; BrE: for a moment. Obviously it's blurred, particularly in BrE with televisual influence from America. Although I notice Wiktionary gives the latter unqualified, and the former as US & proscribed.
- Johnjonjoan 6y agoI see, my bad. Thanks.