So, how long ago was it?

[Wilson Gray]

Seen in an article on smartplanet.com.

http://goo.gl/Bsqc

"Fraser patented the 'piggyBac' method _a while ago_."


IME, _a while ago_ is a Southern regionalism, a temporal adverb phrase
which is essentially meaningless when used outside of a context that
has been made / will be made clear. A blues verse:

I want  you to
Tell me, mama
Who was that
 _While ago_?
*When I came in*
Who went out
That back door?

Something that I made up.

Q.When was the last time that you were in Texas?
A.It's been _a while_ ago_. *Not since '62.*

X.The last time that I was in Texas was in *'62*.
Y.Whoa! That was _a while ago_!

In one case, _a while ago_ means just "a hot minute" into the past.
In the other cases, _a while ago_ refers to a time a half-century
"into the days of yesteryear."

But, in the quoted sentence, _a while ago_ just hangs there. Neither
anything that precedes that sentence nor anything that follows it
gives the reader a clue as to when the method was patented. As the
article was being keyboarded? Five years ago? There's no way to tell.
The "bio" says that the writer went to the U of FL. That's not the
same as "from Florida." So, who knows?
--
-Wilson
–––
All say, "How hard it is that we have to die!"––a strange complaint to
come from the mouths of people who have had to live.
–Mark Twain

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