a minute or moment of silence

[ostap77]

When we pay tribute to the soldiers killed in action, is it a moment or minute of silence?

 

[Rover_KE]

It's a minute's silence.

A moment is a very brief, indeterminate period of time.

Rover

 

[ostap77]

Can it be a minute of silence?

 

[5jj]

This minute of remembrance is almost always known as a minute's silence.

 

[emsr2d2]

It used to be "two minutes' silence" or "a two-minute silence". I think they've realised that these days most people haven't got the attention/concentration span to be quiet for a whole two minutes so all these remembrance things seem to have been cut down to one minute instead.

 

[ostap77]

"And both delegations, led by President Obama and President Hu, stood for a minute of silence."

OR

"Tomorrow at 11:00 a.m. eastern standard time, I call on Americans to observe a moment of silence to honor the innocent victims of the senseless tragedy in Tucson...."

Is there much difference between "to stand for a minute of scilence" and "to observe a momet of scilence"?

 

[5jj]

Is there much difference between "to stand for a minute of s[STRIKE]c[/STRIKE]ilence" and "to observe a moment of s[STRIKE]c[/STRIKE]ilence"?

Rover answered that in post #2.