Pegging days of the week to the work week

Benjamin Barrett gogaku at IX.NETCOM.COM
Mon Dec 19 22:32:48 UTC 2011


The OED's first definition for Friday is:

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The day following Thursday and preceding Saturday, traditionally regarded as the sixth day of the week, but now frequently considered as the fifth, and also as the last day of the working week and (especially in the evening) the start of the weekend.
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None of the citations, however, exemplifies situations where Friday is used to mean the last day of a person's working week, but not actually Friday in terms of the calendar. AFAIK, this use always entails a personal pronoun as in "my Friday."

As shown in 2 below, this can be expanded. Thursday through Monday are all commonly heard in conversation. It may be that Tuesday and Wednesday are the only days that cannot be pegged in this manner to the work week simply because of the mental calculations required on both the part of the speaker and listener (though youneverknow).

1. The Er: One Good Thing a Day, Rade B. Vukmir, Government Institutes, 2008, page unknown (http://ow.ly/84vJk)

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I am certainly glad it is my 'Friday' so to speak, even though it is really Thursday.
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2. Project Egypt: A Politically Incorrect View, Mr. Pat, AuthorHouse, 2008, p. 15 (http://ow.ly/84w4c)

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I tried to explain to Cesar that today is my Friday, which is his Thursday, and tomorrow is my Saturday, which is his Friday.
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3. Magazine Articles on Astrology 1922, H.L. Cornell, Kessinger Publishing, 2004, p. 24 (http://ow.ly/84vWY)

This is an odd quote. Not sure exactly what it means, but it seems there is another meaning analogous to the calendar week.

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I was born on Tuesday, the day of Mars, which planet rules Chemists, Surgeons, Soldiers, etc., and this would make Tuesday my best day of the week, and Friday also a fortunate day, while Sunday is my Friday, or crucifixion day, being the fifth day from the day of my birth.
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Benjamin Barrett
Seattle, WA

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The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org



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