Midway through the week

[LewisJian]

Hi,
I just saw "midway through the week" from CNN student news. What day does it suggest? I guess it's about Tuesday or Wednesday. Am I right? If not, what does it refer to?
Thanks.

 

[GoesStation]

I would understand it to mean Wednesday.

 

[tedmc]

Yes, "middle of the week" is around Wednesday. The writer does not want to be exact.

 

[ChinaDan]

"...the week" generally means the standard five day office workweek, Monday through Friday.

We actually call Wednesday 'Hump Day', because it marks the halfway point towards reaching Friday night and the end of the week. Even for those who work Saturdays (even Sundays), this is usually the day considered "the middle".

Occasionally, the intended meaning might be more vague. Context will indicate the intent.

 

[Raymott]

If it occurred during the day on Wednesday, you'd probably say Wednesday. But things often don't occur neatly like that. They can take place over more than 24 hours, or they can occur late Wednesday night to early Thursday morning, for example.

 

[jutfrank]

I use 'Hump Day.'

 

[ChinaDan]

I've not come across that expression in BrE.

Common in Australia (and I think) New Zealand. I can't recall for sure if I've ever heard it used in the States, but I don't think so.

 

[Raymott]

Common in Australia (and I think) New Zealand. I can't recall for sure if I've ever heard it used in the States, but I don't think so.

I've never heard of it. I doubt whether it's common in Australia unless it is a local saying. English usage throughout Australia is quite uniform compared to say US or UK, because we are a relatively small population with a lot of national TV and radio shows. Generally, if something is common (at least in the larger cities), it will be known everywhere.

 

[ChinaDan]

I've never heard of it. I doubt whether it's common in Australia unless it is a local saying.

I lived in Australia for 34 years. I think I've got some credibility on this one.

 

[Skrej]

"hump day" is common enough in AmE.

I mostly just hear it on the radio, with the DJs mentioning that it's hump-day and we're half way there. A local DJ once added "and I love hump-days, because I do love to hump"....

 

[Raymott]

I lived in Australia for 34 years. I think I've got some credibility on this one.

I've lived here 60 years, mostly in Brisbane. Where did you hear this?
I'm not doubting that it's used in places. I'm saying it's not common.
If it were common, it would not need explaining on pages such as this one:
"Hump day (AKA Wednesday) is arguably the most boring day of the week."
http://www.lifehacker.com.au/tags/hump-day/

It's possible that we disagree on the usage of 'common'.

PS: After a Google search, I see that it is particularly associated with the tourist industry recently.

 

[jutfrank]

It's possible that we disagree on the usage of 'common'.

I often think this is the case among the teachers here on this website. Some of us use this word, when talking about an item of vocabulary, to mean frequent, and others in the sense of ordinary/used by a wide range of speakers. They're not always the same. A word can have a very high frequency among only a small group of users and so be generally uncommon. Similarly, a word can be common but not frequent.

There's a similar difference of use of 'natural', too, I've noticed.

Off-topic, I know, but I think it's an important point.

 

[Raymott]

Yes, it's important.
My threshold for calling something 'common' is probably higher than ChinaDan's. I call something "common in Australia" if a learner here can expect to come here and be understood by most people if they use the word or phrase. I very much doubt this would apply to "hump day". So, I err on the side of not leading learners into embarrassing situations.

I can't think of a solution though. It would be onerous to have to quantify how common something is whenever you say it, and it wouldn't work for 'natural'.

 

[jutfrank]

It would be onerous to have to quantify how common something is whenever you say it, and it wouldn't work for 'natural'.

Agreed. I'm not sure what to suggest. Maybe just our discussing it might help. Or if we really mean to say 'frequent', we could use that word.

I also agree that with 'common', there are rarely any misunderstandings. With 'natural', however, I sense that misunderstandings are more...frequent.

Several months ago, some of us had a discussion about the pitfalls of using the word 'correct'. As we know, learners tend to ask questions such as Is my sentence correct? I think somebody suggested we try to avoid using it altogether in our answers, (which I think worked well), instead preferring words like 'natural/acceptable/appropriate' etc.

With this in mind, I wonder: What do we mean when we say a piece of language is 'natural'?

 

[ChinaDan]

I've lived here 60 years, mostly in Brisbane. Where did you hear this?
I'm not doubting that it's used in places. I'm saying it's not common.
If it were common, it would not need explaining on pages such as this one:
"Hump day (AKA Wednesday) is arguably the most boring day of the week."
http://www.lifehacker.com.au/tags/hump-day/

It's possible that we disagree on the usage of 'common'.

PS: After a Google search, I see that it is particularly associated with the tourist industry recently.

I lived mostly in SE Qld; Toowoomba, Brisbane, Sunshine Coast (best beaches in the world, IMO).

Australian Hump Day reference
Urban Dictionary

 

[ChinaDan]

Raymott has lived in Australia for, I would guess, more than 54 years. With over eight years with UE and more than 22,00 posts and more than 25,000 thanks/likes received, he has established his credibility beyond any shadow of doubt. With all due respect (literally) you're not there yet.

Unbelievable! You are saying that, because Raymott has lived in Australia longer than I have, and because he has been on this site far longer than I, that somehow this makes my clear memories of frequently hearing this expression over many years invalid?

I am stunned by the depth you will go to to win this argument.

If it is that important to you - it's yours. You win.:roll: Obviously, I must be suffering a severe mental aberration of some sort, and my memories are false. My apologies for misleading your readers.