 |
 | Home | Contact Us | FAQ | Search & Site Map | Link to Us |
 | Sign In | Join | Other 45 Sites in Network |
| HomeDiscussion GroupsEnglish UsageBritish EnglishESL Teaching Learnglish.com Contact UsLink To UsSearch & Site Map |
Discussion Groups / English Usage / November 2006BrE: What a time they all are!
Hello: What could be the meaning of "What a time they all are!" here? Is it "they definitely are moving slowly through their conference proceedings?" ------ [The Wilcoxes have a long family conclave inside the house] "What a time they all ARE!" said Helen. "What can they be doing inside?" Howards End - E. M. Forster, p. 385 ------ "What a time they all HAVE!" would've meant of course "they are enjoying it," but this is a bit different and I don't remember seeing it before. Thanks. Marius Hancu > Hello: > [quoted text clipped - 17 lines] > enjoying it," but this is a bit different and I don't remember seeing it > before. Yes, it means "what a long time they are taking". Hence the rhetorical "What can they be doing?" - i.e. "why are they taking so long?". Regards Jonathan >Hello: > [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] >Is it >"they definitely are moving slowly through their conference proceedings?" Pretty much (although the "all" gives a feeling that some of them could finish, or arrive, or whatever, before the others). It's a usage that sounds rather old-fashioned to my ears. I'd probabably say, "What a long time they are all taking". Cheers - Ian (BrE: Yorks., Notts., Hants.) > Hello: > [quoted text clipped - 13 lines] > Howards End - E. M. Forster, p. 385 > ------ Yes, this is standard colloquial English, using TIME, WHILE and perhaps other nouns. You might tell the man waiting for you to finish using the only telephone "I shall be a while yet . . . "  SignatureDon Phillipson Carlsbad Springs (Ottawa, Canada) >> Hello: >> [quoted text clipped - 19 lines] > finish using the only telephone "I shall be a > while yet . . . " The part I find clunky is "What a time they all are!" It may be standard colloquial English in Ottawa, but it's not parseable south of the border. I don't have any problem with "I'm going to be a while" or "This will be some time," but Helen's exclamation makes no sense by itself. The idiomatic version (to me) would be "What's taking so long?" Maybe this is an older construction, or something from BrE and/or CanE? It's not AmE at all. We can have time or take time, but not be time; take a while or be a while, but not have a while. SignatureCarl Burke cburke@mitre.org >>> What could be the meaning of >>> "What a time they all are!" [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] >The idiomatic version (to me) would be "What's taking so long?" >Maybe this is an older construction, or something from BrE and/or CanE? Well, of course. The quotation is from a UK writer, as has been clear from other responses and from the original posting. I find it fairly normal; perhaps very slightly old-fashioned. Katy > >>> What could be the meaning of > >>> "What a time they all are!" > >>> here? > >The part I find clunky is "What a time they all are!" It may be standard > >colloquial English in Ottawa, but it's not parseable south of the border. > >I don't have any problem with "I'm going to be a while" or "This will > >be some time," but Helen's exclamation makes no sense by itself. > >The idiomatic version (to me) would be "What's taking so long?" > >Maybe this is an older construction, or something from BrE and/or CanE? > Well, of course. The quotation is from a UK writer, as has been clear from > other responses and from the original posting. > I find it fairly normal; perhaps very slightly old-fashioned. Okay, but what does it mean? What is the "they" likely to refer to? "They" being plural and "time" being singular, how is the copulative verb "are" functioning? "They all are time"? Maybe it would help if you could give some equivalent statements using other words and maybe other idioms. Like, maybe What a time they all are taking. What a good time we always have with them. ? Bob Cunningham schrieb: ---> What a time they all are taking. Thats what its probably supposed to mean. andy M > In article <ejg1p7$kfa$1@newslocal.mitre.org>, > Carl Burke <cburke@mitre.org> wrote: > >>> What could be the meaning of > >>> "What a time they all are!" [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] > > What a time they all are taking. That's the one. Like "What a time this journey is!" or "What a time those hamburgers are!" SignatureKaty Jennison spamtrap: remove the first two letters after the @ >> >>> What could be the meaning of >> >>> "What a time they all are!" [quoted text clipped - 15 lines] >refer to? "They" being plural and "time" being singular, >how is the copulative verb "are" functioning? The bit you didn't quote, > [The Wilcoxes have a long family conclave inside the house] > > "What a time they all ARE!" said Helen. "What can they be doing > inside?" Suggests to me that 'they' refers to the Wilcoxes, having a long family conclave in the house. SignatureLinz Wet Yorks via Cambridge, York, London and Watford My accent may vary Don Phillipson schrieb: > Yes, this is standard colloquial English, Its not standard in any Colloqs Ive ever been to - It could be a regional style, but its certainly not standard southern UK english. > You might tell the man waiting for you to > finish using the only telephone "I shall be a > while yet . . . " That is quite different and indeed standard. andy M >Don Phillipson schrieb: > >> Yes, this is standard colloquial English, > >Its not standard in any Colloqs Ive ever been to - It could be a >regional style, but its certainly not standard southern UK english. I think your apostrophe key is broken. It's standard enough not to raise eyebrows for me. And what is a "Colloq"? SignatureLinz Wet Yorks via Cambridge, York, London and Watford My accent may vary > "What a time they all HAVE!" would've meant of course "they are > enjoying it," but this is a bit different and I don't remember seeing it > before. An earlier example: http://cdl.library.cornell.edu/cgi-bin/moa/pageviewer?frames=1&coll=moa&view=50& root=%2Fmoa%2Fharp%2Fharp0082%2F&tif=00608.TIF&cite=http%3A%2F%2Fcdl.library.cor nell.edu%2Fcgi-bin%2Fmoa%2Fmoa-cgi%3Fnotisid%3DABK4014-0082-63 "'What a time they are!' said Emily. 'I am getting quite chilly. I did not ex- pect to have to sit so long in the evening air. * Wessex Folk, by Thomas Hardy: pp. 587-599 o p. 598 1 match of 'what a time they are' in: Title: Harper's new monthly magazine. / Volume 82, Issue 490 Publisher: Harper & Bros. Publication Date: March, 1891 > An earlier example: > [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > > * Wessex Folk, by Thomas Hardy: Interesting. A bit old-fashioned, as others said. Thank you all. Marius Hancu In alt.usage.english, Marius Hancu wrote: >Hello: > [quoted text clipped - 17 lines] >enjoying it," but this is a bit different and I don't remember seeing >it before. Others have explained the meaning, but I'd like to add a well-known quotation that uses a similar construction. During the disastrous South Pole expedition of 1912, Captain Titus Oates felt that his deteriorating condition was endangering the whole party, and he decided to sacrifice himself. As he left the tent everyone knew he wouldn't be coming back. He said, famously, "I am just going outside and may be some time". SignatureMike Barnes Cheshire, England > Others have explained the meaning, but I'd like to add a well-known > quotation that uses a similar construction. [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > he wouldn't be coming back. He said, famously, "I am just going outside > and may be some time". Right, but Titus Oates was someone completely different. Captain Oates was called Lawrence. Regards Jonathan > > Others have explained the meaning, but I'd like to add a well-known > > quotation that uses a similar construction. [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] > Right, but Titus Oates was someone completely different. Captain Oates > was called Lawrence. What Wikipedia says that Lawrence Oates "was nicknamed Titus in reference to Titus Oates, famed for his role in the Popish Plot." Scott's journal is at On-Line Books and his notes on Oates are quite close to what Mike said. I just have to add that "I may be some time" sounds quite ordinary to me, and "What a time they all are!" does not. SignatureBest - Donna Richoux > > > Others have explained the meaning, but I'd like to add a > > > well-known quotation that uses a similar construction. [quoted text clipped - 16 lines] > I just have to add that "I may be some time" sounds quite ordinary to > me, and "What a time they all are!" does not. Science fiction writer Brenda Clough wrote a story called, "May Be Some Time", published in Analog magazine. It concerns Captain Oates. Too bad we're not crossed to the sf fandom group, but I'm not going to add it at this late stage. I'm not sure whether Brenda reads that group or not, she does rec.arts.sf.written. Brian SignatureIf televison's a babysitter, the Internet is a drunk librarian who won't shut up. -- Dorothy Gambrell (http://catandgirl.com) |
Reply to this Message |
 Sign In
 Join
 My Latest Posts My Monitored Threads My Blog My Photo Gallery My Profile My Homepage Start New Thread Enable EMail Alerts Rate this Thread
|
©2012 Advenet LLC Privacy Policy - Terms of Use
This website includes both content owned or controlled by Advenet as well as content owned or controlled by third parties.