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Discussion Groups / English Usage / October 2009"call"; "in the back of five o'clock"
Ladies and Gentlemen: I was reading A. J. Cronin's /The Citadel/. ---- "By the way, there's a call for Number 7 Glydar Place. It come in the back of five o'clock. You better do it straight away." (Doctor Page's wife says this in an almost peremptory manner to Andrew Manson, Doctor Page's new assistant.) Andrew went out to the call immediately, with a queer sensation, almost of relief. Note: the words in parenthesis is my provision of context. ---- I got some questions. 1. What do the /call/'s mean? 2. "in the back of five o'clock" Does it mean "sometime between five thirty and six o'clock"? If yes, is it merely a British expression? Sincerely, Tacia > Ladies and Gentlemen: > [quoted text clipped - 15 lines] > > 1. What do the /call/'s mean? Someone has called to request a doctor at that address. > 2. "in the back of five o'clock" > Does it mean "sometime between five thirty and six o'clock"? > If yes, is it merely a British expression? Sorry, I have no idea. -- Jerry Friedman >> Ladies and Gentlemen: >> [quoted text clipped - 17 lines] > > Someone has called to request a doctor at that address. So we have two connected meanings of "call" - the first is the request for a doctor, and the second is the attendance of the doctor. >> 2. "in the back of five o'clock" >> Does it mean "sometime between five thirty and six o'clock"? >> If yes, is it merely a British expression? > > Sorry, I have no idea. Nor I, but some searching indicates that it may be Scots dialect, meaning "soon after" five o'clock. http://ifla.uni-stuttgart.de/institut/mitarbeiter/jilka/teaching/dialectology/d8 _Scotland.pdf http://www.newtyletartanarmy.co.uk/tartanarmynewtylewembley99.htm And here's another one: http://www.archive.org/stream/stickitminister00crocuoft/stickitminister00crocuof t_djvu.txt Now, sir, you'll hardly believe me, though I can show you the notices in a minute, but that very nicht on the back of ten o'clock there was another knock came on the door ... Cronin was Scottish, so there's some sense in that.  SignatureDavid [snip] Thank you for the pointers! Sincerely, Tacia [...] >>> 2. "in the back of five o'clock" >>> Does it mean "sometime between five thirty and six o'clock"? [quoted text clipped - 15 lines] > > Cronin was Scottish, so there's some sense in that. New to me, too. It's an opposite perception to the one which gives us "back end" for "late in the year" (my sense is that it would apply to November and December, but probably not October). But we don't, as far as I know, ever use "front end" for "early in the year". SignatureMike. > Cronin was Scottish, so there's some sense in that. Is the novel set in Scotland? I thought it was set in Wales - but I'm only going by the TV serial. I was going to say "a year or two back", but am shocked to find it was over a quarter of a century ago. Ben Cross and Clare Higgins starred. It was quite good if I remember correctly. Regards Jonathan |
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