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Discussion Groups / English Usage / September 2007Waiting
I was having a conversation with my daughter recently, and I asked if she "waited dinner" for someone, meaning, did she postpone serving dinner until they arrived. She thought I had missed a word (ever vigilant, as she is, for the onset of senility in her parents), but, to me, that was a perfectly ordinary idiom. Is this another thing that I haven't noticed Americans not saying in the last 22 years? Fran > I was having a conversation with my daughter recently, and I asked if > she "waited dinner" for someone, meaning, did she postpone serving [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > Is this another thing that I haven't noticed Americans not saying in the > last 22 years? [snip] Did you mean all those negatives in your question? (My head kinda hurts.) Your usage is new to me -- I would have thought that "waiting dinner" meant serving food around the table. But what do we left pondians know? -- Aloha ~~~ Ozzie Maland ~~~ San Diego >>Is this another thing that I haven't noticed Americans not saying in the >>last 22 years? [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > Did you mean all those negatives in your question? (My head kinda > hurts.) Yes, I did. Fran > I was having a conversation with my daughter recently, > and I asked if she "waited dinner" for someone, meaning, > did she postpone serving dinner until they arrived. She > thought I had missed a word (ever vigilant, as she is, > for the onset of senility in her parents), but, to me, > that was a perfectly ordinary idiom. [Nice comma usuage.] It is a familiar idiom to rightpondian me, but your post prompts the reflection that I don't recall hearing it for many years. Perhaps it is linked to behaviour or attitudes that are no longer standard. > Is this another thing that I haven't noticed Americans > not saying in the last 22 years? I surmise that, given that "waited tables" seems to be American for "was a waiter", this phrase would give an American pause[1]. [1] Not like a foot transplant. > I was having a conversation with my daughter recently, and I asked if > she "waited dinner" for someone, meaning, did she postpone serving [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > Is this another thing that I haven't noticed Americans not saying in the > last 22 years? Normal to this American. -- Jerry Friedman >> I was having a conversation with my daughter recently, and I asked if >> she "waited dinner" for someone, meaning, did she postpone serving [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] > > Normal to this American. Normal to this one as well, although I did hear it much more in the South than in the Midwest. >>> I was having a conversation with my daughter recently, and I asked if >>> she "waited dinner" for someone, meaning, did she postpone serving [quoted text clipped - 9 lines] > Normal to this one as well, although I did hear it much more in the South > than in the Midwest. This American (a Californian long resident in the Northeast) understands it but would not use it himself.  SignatureRoland Hutchinson Will play viola da gamba for food. NB mail to my.spamtrap [at] verizon.net is heavily filtered to remove spam. If your message looks like spam I may not see it. > >> Normal to this American. > > [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > This American (a Californian long resident in the Northeast) understands it > but would not use it himself. This American doesn't remember ever hearing it before, which makes her wonder if she needs to stop daydreaming so much. SignatureSML >> >> Normal to this American. >> > [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] > This American doesn't remember ever hearing it before, which makes her > wonder if she needs to stop daydreaming so much. The California boy, however, isn't entirely sure that he didn't pick it up abroad, so you may not be daydreaming as much as you think. SignatureRoland Hutchinson Will play viola da gamba for food. NB mail to my.spamtrap [at] verizon.net is heavily filtered to remove spam. If your message looks like spam I may not see it. > I was having a conversation with my daughter recently, and I asked if > she "waited dinner" for someone, meaning, did she postpone serving [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] > > Fran Held dinner is the usage I know. "We held dinner because X was going to be late." Waited dinner sounds like you were a hired server. > I was having a conversation with my daughter recently, and I asked if > she "waited dinner" for someone, meaning, did she postpone serving [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] > > Fran By no means universal, but it wouldn't be thought unusual in New Zealand, as in, "I'm working late tonight. Don't wait dinner for me." Pakeha usage rather than Maori or immigrant. Dave >> I was having a conversation with my daughter recently, and I asked if >> she "waited dinner" for someone, meaning, did she postpone serving [quoted text clipped - 8 lines] > Zealand, as in, "I'm working late tonight. Don't wait dinner for me." > Pakeha usage rather than Maori or immigrant. I have never used that phrase, as I have always made a point of being on time for dinner. I have heard others use it, though. I think they had something going on the side. Anyway, yes, I am familiar with the "waiting dinner" phrase in this context. SignatureSkitt Don't wait up for me |
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