Metro-syntactical: "runs through"

[Joel S. Berson]

At 11/23/2010 04:45 PM, Dan Goncharoff wrote:
>What day is being skipped?

The Thursday of Thanksgiving, on which people do not travel as much
by air as on Wednesday and Friday.  The Tuesday and Wednesday of the
second part are presumably in the following week.  It's not
immediately apparent whether the intent was to say "extra service on
all days from the Wednesday before Thanksgiving through the following
Wednesday, except Thanksgiving Day itself."

>I think they mistakenly used the word
>"through" to mean "on".

Very possibly a misuse of "through" when "on" would be spot-on.  But
still, they said "through", and twice in the same sentence with what
must be two different meanings.  And why say "through *Tuesday and*
Wednesday"?  "Through Wednesday" seems sufficient -- unless Friday,
Saturday, Sunday, and Monday are also days without extra service.

Joel

>DanG
>
>On Tue, Nov 23, 2010 at 4:41 PM, Joel S. Berson <Berson at att.net> wrote:
> > ---------------------- Information from the mail header
> -----------------------
> > Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> > Poster:       "Joel S. Berson" <Berson at ATT.NET>
> > Subject:      Metro-syntactical: "runs through"
> >
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> >
> >  From MetroBoston, inescapable on the T and in doctors' waiting
> > rooms, today, Nov. 23:
> >
> > "runs through" = "sometimes skips a day":  "MBTA service to and from
> > Logan Airport on the Silver, Red, Orange, Blue, and Green lines will
> > operate with additional service during peak travel periods for the
> > holidays. The extra service will run through Wednesday and Friday and
> > will continue through Tuesday and Wednesday."
> >
> > Joel
> >
> > ------------------------------------------------------------
> > The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
> >
>
>------------------------------------------------------------
>The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org

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