Long before the days of Google, when I was a little girl, my family would sit around the dinner table and talk. I know. I know. It is a novel concept, isn't it? During these chats my Daddy used to love to bait us into discussions by challenging us. Part of him just loved to tease us, but also believe part of him intended to teach us to stand up for ourselves and our beliefs.
One of our most famous dinner table arguments is the "blue blood" discussions. My sister and I were in elementary school and we were talking about what we were studying in science. We talked about oxygenated vs. un-oxygenated blood (to our understanding). We told Daddy that unoxygenated blood was blue. Oh, he challenged it and said he had never cut himself and seen blue blood. It was always red. We argued that was because the air had hit it. Then he argued if that was true no one could see it as blue because air would always hit it. Back and forth. Round and round. On and on. Months. Years. Sometimes just for the sake or arguing!
During this past Easter weekend another one of our discussions got started. I asked my sister when my niece was going to be involved in something. She said, "next Friday." That one simple statement started a HUGE discussion. Half of the room said that "next Friday" meant that the event was going to happen this Friday on April 17th, but the other half of the room said that "This next weekend" meant that the event was going to be happening on Friday, April 24th.
HELP US! If you were there last weekend and you were told that you had to be at something "this next Friday" when would you think that you needed to be there - April 17th or April 24th? (post your answer in the comments please - no leading from family members please!)
(For the record, our family has realized that we have to use specific dates. I'll tell you the real answer to the question later.)
11 comments:
Hmmmm sounds like the 17th and then the next friday would be the 24th and so on and so on!! too funny!
Good luck with the debate! :)
i cannot remember life before Google! i would think Friday the 17th would be "this Friday" and "next Friday" is the 24th. LOL
Okay, on Easter, THIS Friday would be the 17th and NEXT Friday would be the 24th. In my crazy world, anyway!
Can't wait to hear the 'real" answer!
I would be confused too because I would say "this Friday" usually but then would differentiate to the "Friday after next" for the 24th. "Next Friday" is completely open to interpretation and has a lot to do with if you are saying it on a Saturday or a Thursday.
Friday would be the 17th and next Friday would be the 24th in my head.
Adding "this" to the phrase complicates things though...
I agree with K Storm, it depends on when you say it. I would think that "this next Friday" would be the 17th. Also where I'm from, to specify that something is a week away, people say "Friday week" (or whatever day). Kinda irks my nerves when people do that. I always prefer that people use dates.
I dunno about the friday thing, but oxygenated blood is bright red and oxygen starved blood is almost brown. Your veins look blue because your skin has a lot of yellow in it
I agree with K Storm. If it was to be the 24th I would have said "Not THIS Friday but the NEXT Friday."
Having the "this" in there really throws it off. I'd have to ask for a clarification on that one.
Most definitely the 17th. To invoke the 24th, you'd have to say "Friday, next."
I would have to ask for clarification because that "this" is what threw me off.
but if I was forced to choose I'd say 24th.
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