Discussion Groups / English Usage / January 2007

No.  The "late" Dr Scott refers to a dead person.  If the neighbor
remembers Dr Scott, the death was recent enough for use of the word.

 

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Neither incorrect nor misleading.

Current UK English usage interprets "the late Dr Scott" as conveying the
information that Dr Scott is dead. It may imply he died within living
memory. It is not used of historical figures. One would not normally
refer to "the late Queen Anne".

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Judgement call. I don't think you can fix a time frame. "late" suggests
"recent" to many but not to all. And, anyway "recent" is a moveable feast. I
don't often use the term myself, but if someone spoke to me of "your late
father" I wouldn't think it strange even though Dad died over 40 years ago.
And "late" is, of course, used in other ways - of employment, employers and
stuff.
And it can be used in a semi-jokey way, too. People speak of WW2 and even
the American Civil War as "the late unpleasantness."
So, anyhoo, I certainly wouldn't call it incorrect in your example and I
don't think it misleading. If there seems to be a risk of that, amplify.

I do not love thee Doctor Scott
The reason why I wot not what
But sense I got and know what's what
I do not love thee Doctor Scott

Me: You're late!
Dr Scott: I got here as fast as I could. I had to get out of the coffin
first.

I let context determine my use of the term "late" because I find
"recently deceased" pretty vague.  Does the live - dead status add
necessary information to what I'm writing?  If I'm writing about a
business founded 50 years ago by Sally Smith and her late husband, John
if the business is still in the hands of Sally Smith.

If the business was founded 50 years ago by John Smith and is now in
the hands of others, I might forego the tern late for John Smith unless
the reason it's passed into the hands of others is John Smith's
passing.

I don't use late to reference a person whose death can reasonable be
presumed to be common knowledge. Although I did hear a radio announcer
refer to the late American President Franklin Roosevelt LAST year, I
might refer to the late American President Gerald Ford but only for a
month or so. As one poster said, never with historical characters -
although I'd love to refer to Adam as "the late begatter of human
kind!"

BTW, those attuned to American Pop Culture know that late ia always
paired with great when referencing dead entertainers - the late-great
James Brown, the late-great Jimi Hendrix, the late-great Buddy Holly,
etc, etc, etc  -  NO ONE says the late-great Elvis Presley PROVING
conclusively that Elvis lives!

Regards
Annandale Frank