[Idiom] somewhere in there

[englishhobby]

Can I use 'somewhere in there' to mean 'approximately'? For example:
A normal schedule is usually 8:30 to 4:30, somewhere in there, and you usually get an hour for lunch.

 

[Skrej]

You can, but your example is a bit confusing. As written, it's a bit unclear if you're trying to give the approximate working hours, or stating that you get a lunch break sometime between those hours. The latter is a slightly different use of the expression.

I usually quit working around 5:30 or somewhere in there. (approximately 5:30)
Try looking for a stapler in my desk. There should be one somewhere in there. (general location/vicinity)


There should be a Captain in there somewhere

 

[englishhobby]

Will it be clearer without the part about lunch? A normal schedule is usually 8:30 to 4:30, somewhere in there.

 

[5jj]

A normal schedule is usually 8:30 to 4:30, somewhere in there.

That would mean little to this elderly Brit.

 

[emsr2d2]

I'd use/accept "somewhere around that" with just the working hours.

 

[tedmc]

Why use three words when your can use one - around? What is "a normal schedule"?

I would write:
Our working hours are usually 8:30 to around 4:30, with an hour off for lunch.

 

[emsr2d2]

Why use three words when [STRIKE]your[/STRIKE] you can use one - around? What is "a normal schedule"?

I would write:
Our working hours are usually 8:30 to around 4:30, with an hour off for lunch.

Your new sentence doesn't express the same thing. It suggests that the day always starts at 8.30. That's not what the original says. The idea is that most people start sometime around 8.30 and finish sometime around 4.30, with an hour for lunch. Each company will have its own "normal" working hours, and in some companies there is some flexibility around those hours.

 

[englishhobby]

Thanks for all the comments. I think I need to clarify it a little (sorry for not doing it at once). My main objective is to practice some vocabulary from a video recorded by an American teacher (maybe I'm mistaken and he is not American, but it seems to me he is) who taught English in Korea. I just wanted the students to learn and practice some expressions related to the topic 'Daily Routine". I liked "somewhere in there", but had some doubts about whether I should make the students practice this expression along with the other ones or not. I can't change it to 'somewhere around that' because in the video the speaker used 'somewhere in there'. I just want to know about this phrase ('somewhere in there'). If my students and I use 'somewhere in there' in similar contexts with the meaning 'approximately', will it be natural?
Here's the link to the video (0:25):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x71y7CVjGMg

 

[jutfrank]

It depends to some extent on the level of your students, but I'd advise you not to teach this expression to your students.

If you have to, give them something like that instead, which is far more common and widely applicable.

 

[emsr2d2]

Are you sure you transcribed it correctly? It would make perfect sense if "and" was moved and a couple of commas added.

A normal working day is 8.30 to 4.30 and, somewhere in there, you usually get an hour for lunch.

That way, the "somewhere in there" refers to the lunch break, not to the working hours.

 

[englishhobby]

Are you sure you transcribed it correctly? It would make perfect sense if "and" was moved and a couple of commas added.

A normal working day is 8.30 to 4.30 and, somewhere in there, you usually get an hour for lunch.

That way, the "somewhere in there" refers to the lunch break, not to the working hours.

I listened again ( here it is, at 0:25 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x71y7CVjGMg ), and it was about the working hours. Now I think it was just a little slip up (like people sometimes do when speaking casually).