Re: OT: speaking of days (weeks, months, years, etc.)

[Stefan Monnier <monnier@iro.umontreal.ca>]

I tried "aptitude install Thursday" and that failed miserably.
Then I tried with `apt-get`: same result.

The worst part is that I get the same kinds of failures when I try
"aptitude install this Thursday" or "aptitude install next Thursday".


        Stefan "confused about this Debian thing"


>>>>> "rhkramer" == rhkramer  <rhkramer@gmail.com> writes:

> On Friday, March 31, 2017 06:30:25 AM Terence wrote:
>> There is no ambiguity if (as I have always understood) "Thursday" means
>> "this (or the coming) Thursday" and "next Thursday" or "Thursday next"
>> means "a week on Thursday".
>> 
>> And having lived in Yorkshire for two very happy years, I would agree that
>> York is above London in so many ways...

> To me, all that has been discussed is (potentially) confusing and ambiguous.

> To me, I prefer the following--ohh, most of the examples assume that the 
> current day is not Thursday (but maybe that makes no difference):

> Thursday can refer either to the coming Thursday or the previous Thursday 
> based on the context, for example:

> On Thursday, we played baseball.  (obvious (to me) that was the (just) 
> previous Thursday)

> The paper is due on Thursday.  (obvious (to me) that is the (just) coming 
> Thursday)

> Last Thursday, we played baseball.  (clear to me, but the "last" is redundant 
> and may be ambiguous to some--might some mean the Thursday before the most 
> recent??)

> The paper is due next Thursday.   (clear to me, but the "next" is redundant 
> and is ambiguous to some--some seem to mean the Thursday after the coming / 
> really next Thursday)

> The paper is due Thursday next.  (clear to me, but the "next" is redundant and 
> is ambiguous to some--some seem to mean the Thursday after the coming / really 
> next Thursday--it might be a Briticism (to coin or mangle a word))

> To specify the Thursday before the last Thursday, use something like: "the 
> Thursday before last Thursday".

> To specify the Thursday after the coming Thursday, use something like: "the 
> Thursday after next Thursday".

> Use similar constructs for other days, weeks, months, years, millennia, 
> minutes, hours, etc., or better, specify a date, year, time, or similar.

> I'm not aware of whether the grammar lords have established a clear preferred 
> usage pattern--if they have, I'm sure it differs on the two sides of the 
> Atlantic.

> (Maybe this is my subconcious bid to become a grammar lord??  Uuh, I think 
> I'll shut up now, I'd hate to be tagged with that label.)

> Randy Kramer