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Now tell me how you feel about the common phrase "I'll be there momentarily." (I may logically accept that language follows usage, but I just can't not be both
by sfink 5y ago
Now tell me how you feel about the common phrase "I'll be there momentarily."
(I may logically accept that language follows usage, but I just can't not be bothered by that one. Also, people don't seem to like it when I reply "I hope you're right.")
- dane-pgp 5y agoIs it so hard to accept that "momentarily" refers to the period of time before arriving, rather than after arriving? Time is a subject that is hard to avoid using idioms to convey, like when people ask "What time is it?" without specifying what "it" refers to.
- sfink 5y ago> Is it so hard to accept that "momentarily" refers to the period of time before arriving, rather than after arriving? Yes? I don't need to make up a different subject for the sentence when it's laid out precisely. If it were "I'll be there briefly", would you still try to contort the words into something like "The time required to get there will pass briefly"? (Though to argue the other side, "I'll be there shortly" doesn't bother me in the least...)
- Geekette 5y agoInterestingly enough, I'm less bothered by that. It could've been worse, e.g. "I'll be there momentishly".