the then, the late, and in the room of

[Joel S. Berson]

At 2/11/2010 04:32 PM, Alison Murie wrote:
>To me, "the then" whatever has always meant specifically "at that
>time,"  not merely formerly or previously.  Unlike Wilson, I heard and
>used this expression at least from the '40s.

Yes, I too would take "the then" as indicating a more specific point
in time than "the late", so they are not exactly the same.  But my
main point was that "the late" did not always and forever mean "the deceased."

Joel

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