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Sat 28 Dec, 2013 09:07 pm
Situation:
I have been thinking of a maths problem, racking my brains; at this critical moment, my brother, who is a mathematician, returns home. What idiomatic would a Briton/American say? I know RIGHT ON CUE, but it doesn't sound right. Could I say 'there you are' or 'the timing is good'?
@WBYeats,
Saying "there you are" would not convey the meaning of your brother having arrived in a timely manner. "Right on cue" would be perfectly acceptable, if the idea is to convey the meaning that he appeared just when you needed him. You could say "the timing is good," but a native speaker would be more likely to say "
yout timing is good."
@WBYeats,
You might use the word 'kismet' if you wished to emphasise the co-incidence facetiously.
Especially bearing in mind that you have already established the timing.
Above, i meant to write "YOUR timing is good." Sorry about that . . .
I advise that you pay no attention to the member knaivete, whose grasp of English grammar is poor. In this case, using "kismet" is not an answer to your question.
@WBYeats,
WBYeats wrote:I know RIGHT ON CUE, but it doesn't sound right.
We might say "Right on cue" if the event happened while something related to it was being spoken about (in the theatre a "cue" is often a piece of dialogue). E.g. (Information: my friend is a plumber) I was in a bar talking to my father about his plumbing problem. "What I need is a guy who can replace that leaky pipe", he said. Just then my friend walked in. "Right on cue!" I exclaimed.
@contrex,
In the UK, we often say "Speak of the Devil" when someone (who is perhaps being spoken about" turns up unexpectedly.
I think that comes from an older superstition, "Speak of the Devil, and he appears."
@McTag,
McTag wrote:
In the UK, we often say "Speak of the Devil" when someone (who is perha
ps being spoken about" turns up unexpectedly.
I think that comes from an older superstition, "Speak of the Devil, and he appears."
That's also a commonly used phrase in the US.
@Setanta,
Saying "there you are" would convey that meaning perfectly.
We don't always say things to make sense to an immediate listener.
A "there you are" could certainly be used by a speaker in such a situation.
Or, "your timing is perfect".
@WBYeats,
Relating this past event, fictitious or otherwise, to us here you may want
to consider,
I HAD been thinking ...
OR
I'd been thinking ...
@Jack of Hearts,
Jack of Hearts wrote:'were your ears ringing?' (if you were speaking of him);
In Britain our ears 'burn' in these situations.
@contrex,
You shouldn't think you can speak for all BrE speakers,C, as
you've gotten it wrong so many times before.
@WBYeats,
And WBYEATS know that when you follow Setanta, renowned for such work as "RIGHT-HANDED TERPITUDE" (sic), that his sycophantic slavery to rephrasing precludes any lateral thinking on his part and confines him to tautology. I also trust you recall his snickering reference to your English in an early thread of yours.
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