what does ways mean in this sentence?

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Paris was a ways away.

Does ways mean long distance? Is it singular?

Thank you.

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@perennialloner,

Quote:

Paris was a ways away.

Does ways mean long distance? Is it singular?

Thank you.

It describes a middling distance.

Paris was a long/short/an incredible ways away.

The last not necessarily common but possible.

1 Reply

@camlok,

Thank you, centrox.

2 Replies

@perennialloner,

"Ways" alone means "distance," "a ways" means "a considerable distance."

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@perennialloner,

Had it been Centrox, you would have received bad information. Smile

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Using 'ways' in this way is US regional dialect casual usage, mainly rural.

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@perennialloner,

Sorry, I meant camlok.

1 Reply

@perennialloner,

perennialloner wrote:

Sorry, I meant camlok.

That would be funny, if camlok wasn't such a sicko. he used to be called JTT and he was just as bad then. Ask him about the Burma Railway.

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@centrox,

Quote:

Using 'ways' in this way is US regional dialect casual usage, mainly rural.

False.

See what I mean about getting goofy English advice from centrox.

1 Reply

@camlok,

camlok wrote:

False

Not false, TRUE. Camlok is a loony.

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@centrox,

Typical centrox proof. Zippo.

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For what it's worth, I like and appreciate you all.

So, ways is a distance of any length but very short, and usually considerable?

Could I say, "the ways is 50 meters from here"?

2 Replies

I guess that they say "I guess I'll mosey down the road a ways" in Oxford, Cambridge, Glasgow, and at Buckingham Palace, and I'm just ignoring that out of malice. My bad.

1 Reply

@perennialloner,

perennialloner wrote:

Could I say, "the ways is 50 meters from here"?

Only if you want native speakers to fail to understand you. Camlok is mad. Ignore him.

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@centrox,

centrox: Using 'ways' in this way is US regional dialect casual usage, mainly rural.
centrox now says: I guess that they say "I guess I'll mosey down the road a ways" in Oxford, Cambridge, Glasgow, and at Buckingham Palace, and I'm just ignoring that out of malice. My bad.

==========

Yes, your bad and your stupidity.

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@perennialloner,

perennialloner wrote:

For what it's worth, I like and appreciate you all.

So, ways is a distance of any length but very short, and usually considerable?

Could I say, "the ways is 50 meters from here"?

You would say "the way is 50 meters from here."

"A ways" is an idiom, so you wouldn't use "ways" as you would "way."

You can modify "a ways," like in, "Paris was a short ways away."

Alone, "a ways" means, "a considerable distance."

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@centrox,

Quote:

centrox: Using 'ways' in this way is US regional dialect casual usage, mainly rural.

M-W:
Definition of a ways to go
US, informal
: a long distance to go We still have a ways to go before we're home. —often used figuratively We've done a lot of work on this project, but we have a long ways to go. She still has a ways to go before graduation.

https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/a%20ways%20to%20go

1 Reply

@camlok,

InfraBlue wrote:

"A ways" is an idiom

camlok wrote:

US, informal

This is what I said.

2 Replies

@centrox,

I think his objection is that you characterized the idiom as regional and rural. It's pretty common throughout the US.

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@centrox,

InfraBlue wrote:
"A ways" is an idiom

camlok wrote:
US, informal

centrox: This is what I said.
=========

You are willing to lie even when your lie is right there for all to see.

You wrote:
Using 'ways' in this way is US regional dialect casual usage, mainly rural.

which is not at all what it is. Then you compounded your lie making a fatuous comparison to Brits, when they have nothing to do with what you stated.

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what does ways mean in this sentence?

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