[Grammar] Book Months Out

[CaseyA]

It's not madness to mix horse racing and music - Horse Racing - Telegraph

The risks are the weather and you need to book a band nine months out.

Does it mean when nine months are out (at the end of nine months), one would need to book a band?

 

[Rover_KE]

No.

It means you need to book a band nine months in advance.

Rover

 

[CaseyA]

I couldn't find an entry in many dictionaries relating to this use of "out". Could my example be slangy?

 

[bhaisahab]

I couldn't find an entry in many dictionaries relating to this use of "out". Could my example be slangy?

I haven't come across "out" used like that in BrE before.

 

[CaseyA]

Does this mean "book something X months out" is informal/nonstandard English?

 

[5jj]

Does this mean "book something X months out" is informal/nonstandard English?

Not necessarily. Bhaisahab and (by implication) Rover, have not come across this in BrE; neither have I. This suggests that it is not standard/common usage in British English - that's all. Please try not to read too much into what people say.

 

[CaseyA]

Not necessarily. Bhaisahab and (by implication) Rover, have not come across this in BrE; neither have I. This suggests that it is not standard/common usage in British English - that's all. Please try not to read too much into what people say.

This means the original example IS nonstandard/noncommon British English.

 

[5jj]

For many of us there is a subtle difference between 'not standard usage' and 'non-standard usage', and a bigger difference between 'not common' and 'uncommon'. You seem determined to read into our words what you want to read.

 

[CaseyA]

"book something X months out" could be an Americanism....

 

[CaseyA]

"He fell out the window." = "He fell through the window."

From that, "out" = "through". Then "book something X months out." could mean "book something through X months." :-D

 

[Tdol]

Closing thread