Re: Enquire within
- From: John O'Flaherty <quiasmox@xxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Tue, 01 Dec 2009 13:49:26 -0600
On Tue, 1 Dec 2009 18:23:47 -0000, "John Dean"
<john-dean@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Item from the Guardian on getting to sleep:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2009/dec/01/dr-luisa-dillner-sleep-guide
"Don't eat much, drink alcohol or anything with caffeine in (hot chocolate
and milk are no good either), smoke or exercise within four hours of going
to bed."
The first conjured image was a bloke in a nightshirt sitting up in bed to
enjoy a pork pie, pot of Earl Grey, hot toddy and Wills Woodbine. And I
thought "No wonder you don't get to sleep".
Then I saw the 'within four hours' as meaning strictly 'less than four hours
before' and it made more sense but didn't seem to be good usage.
OED acknowledges that 'within' when used of time can mean before or after
but usually means before:
"In the limits of (a period of time); most usually, before the end of, after
not more than; also, since the beginning of, not more than.ago; or gen.
between the beginning and end of, in the course of, during."
But as written, the usage is suggesting 'before' as the only
interpretation - not both before and after and certainly not exclusively
after.
Doesn't seem right.
If you interpret it as meaning both before and after, the result is
logically the same - no stuff. Anyway, it seems like the usual way of
putting it.
Another example, going the other way - no swimming within an hour of
eating - probably doesn't intend to forbid a meal after a swim.
--
John
.
- References:
- Enquire within
- From: John Dean
- Enquire within
- Prev by Date: Re: More (or now, less?) about Climate Change
- Next by Date: Re: Disappearing "OT" tags (was: More (or now, less?) about Climate Change)
- Previous by thread: Re: Enquire within
- Next by thread: Re: Enquire within
- Index(es):
Relevant Pages
|
