Wait a Minute, I Need a Moment in Context
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Another Linguist Lesson from yours truly today.
We're talking pure CONTEXT here.
I've done my homework/research and conclude that this is another of the English 101 rules currently making its way through every college campus on earth.
Below are two Merriam-Webster definitions and a synonym chart.
Minute - noun
1. the sixtieth part (1/60) of an hour; sixty seconds.
2. an indefinitely short space of time:
Wait a minute!
3. an exact point in time; instant; moment:
Come here this minute!
Synonyms
instant, jiffy, little while, minute, moment, second, space, spell, stretch, tick, while, bit
mo·ment - ˈmōmənt noun
1. a very brief period of time.
"she was silent for a moment before replying"
synonyms: little while, short time, bit, minute, instant, second, split second; informal
"he thought for a moment"
2. importance. ( formal) (accent on second syllable)
importance, import, significance, consequence, note, weight, concern, interest
"issues of little moment"
"the issues were of little moment to the electorate"
Before I go on, let me just say that after having assumed forEVER that adding an S to the end of toward was silly, wrong, and bad form, I noticed in a lot of Pre-WWII black & white movies where the word is spelled with an S.
Towards the Dawn and not Toward the Dawn.
I looked that up as well.
According to the Chicago Manual of Style, the preferred form in American English is toward without the -s, while the preferred British English form is towards with the -s. This general rule works with other directional words, including forward, backward, upward, and downward, along with afterward. (Feb 11, 2015)
And now back to using moment for minute and minute for moment.
That Chicago Manual of Style thing...
It proves I am right when I say the nonsense is derived and absorbed and believed and then proliferated by a ton of hapless students who simply refuse to question any authority outside their own parents.
I went to college as well, twice actually, and it was the second time around and just a few years ago, that I learned quite a lot MORE about the English language and how relatively easy it is to eff it up without even trying, thinking, or (more importantly) caring.
If you subscribe to and believe in the rules/guidelines set forth by a PUBLICATION manual, then you are in for a lot of strife from folk like me, who do not.
Newspapers, Magazines, and even online Article/Journal Publications have these rules in place as a means of saving time/money and little else.
Especially if ink and paper are involved.
Long Story Short -- they are not always right nor correct in their thinking/rule making decisions and more inclined to cost-cut think than anything else.
Bottom Line
If I have to read one more "I waited a moment," or "I'll be back in a moment," or "She returned after a few moments," I'm going to go berserk.
Well, I already have.
Gone berserk, that is.
Which is why I'm writing this ANTI post.
Am I the only one who HEARS and SEES how wrong and stupid the above sentences are and sound to the ear?
It is jarring and makes me want to do the proverbial Kindle Toss thing every time it occurs.
Never in my life had I ever heard anyone say, "Wait a MOMENT."
Nor had I ever read "A few MOMENTS later."
Until now.
It sounds backwards, illogical, and stupid to my ears (and my eyes) and makes me want to cry.
MOMENT has always meant a span of time... an instance when... a dawning... and Eureka.
I'd much rather hear (and read) "I'll be back in a few," over "I'll be back in a moment" any day.
With the latter, I'm forced to hang suspended in time, awaiting the Eureka MOMENT to occur when what the author really means to say is, "Give me a MINUTE to fix my hair."
THAT I can deal with and will gladly oblige, no worries.
"That moment when I realized 2+2 really equals 4" would sound asinine were it to read, "That minute when I realized 2+2 really equals 4"
Yet, today's author seems to think interchangeability is an okay thing when it isn't.
Can you imagine watching Jayne Seymour and Christopher Reeve starring in A MINUTE in Time?
Russell Crowe starring in For the MINUTE?
Jennifer Jason Leigh starring in The MINUTE?
Kay Stanton, her husband Neil and son Tommy live on the French Riviera. While at the port, when her husband was on a trip she meets an American naval officer, and they begin an affair. Kay knows she loves her husband Neil and tries to end the affair, but she and Mark fight over this and she shoots him accidentally. Her next door neighbor, Daphne, takes Mark's body and throws it in some dump. Later she calls the police to tell them where she dumped him. Neil is called by the police so he can help them with an ensign who is an amnesiac victim recovering from a gunshot wound; this man happens to be Mark. He regains his memory and recognizes Kay, but keeps quiet when Neil introduces them. Neil has a deep feeling that Kay and Mark know each other, but knows Kay really loves him.
It isn't about minutes ticking by but about moments in time leading up to a movie's climax.
So, there is overwhelming proof of there being a huge difference between the two words and how they should/need to be used in a sentence in order for them to A) make sense and B) work for the reader and the situation.
And, while remaining on the topic of movies and their titles, would you say "The most memorable MINUTE in that movie was..." or would you say, "The most memorable MOMENT in that movie was..."
???????????????????????????????????????????????????????????
"I need a minute to think" and "I need a moment to think" say two entirely different things, believe it or not.
#1, you are hesitating to think before reaching a decision, and that's cool.
#2, you are going to deliberately stall until time actually runs out and no one wins.
So, in the minute it took me to reach my decision, you won the MOMENT by avoiding the issue and upsetting the apple cart.
"Have you got a moment?" and "Have you got a minute?"
#1, well... I have a few moments, actually. That time I knew my marriage was truly over, the time I felt truly mature at age 33, and the time when I bought my first car. All moments in my life I still remember with either fondness, joy, or sorrow.
Were I to say, "All MINUTES in my life..." it would sound stupid, right?
#2, Yes, I can spare you a minute of my precious time. Maybe even three if you make it quick and worth my while.
No one can logically or successfully argue with me that the two are interchangeable, so there is no way I can ever accept the misuse of either word in a sentence that deliberately makes it sound illogical.
If you're going to make me wait a MOMENT, I'm not going to bother giving you another MINUTE to impress me with your story.
I am through reading the word the wrong way because I cannot abide by such a thoughtless request.
Please take a MINUTE to absorb my logic, and then use this MOMENT to pat yourself on the back for being re-educated on the subject.
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