"due"

[Jonathan Lighter]

If one were to overhear at random the remark "and when are you due?"
addressed directly to a woman, I believe the most likely interpretation
nowadays, without further context, would be that the addressee is pregnant,
not that she herself is expected to arrive somewhere (though of course
that's entirely possible).

JL
On Fri, Jun 24, 2011 at 5:55 PM, Garson O'Toole
<adsgarsonotoole at gmail.com>wrote:

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> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       Garson O'Toole <adsgarsonotoole at GMAIL.COM>
> Subject:      Re: "due"
>
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
>  Jonathan Lighter wrote:
> [ Topic: the word due]
> > Also apparently unnoticed is
> >
> > "And when are you due?"
> >
> > I.e., specif., "expected to give birth."
>
> Wordnik shows that the American Heritage Dictionary has the sense of
> "due" (adjective) that is associated with pregnancy.
>
> due
> Adjective (22)
> American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
> 6. Expected to give birth.
> http://www.wordnik.com/words/due
>
>
> OED has "reckoned upon as arriving" but none of the examples involve
> pregnancy.
>
> 10. Under engagement or contract to be ready, be present, or arrive
> (at a defined time); reckoned upon as arriving; as the train is
> already due = ought, according to the time-tables, to be already here
> (or at such a place).
>
> a1872  B. Harte Lost Galleon i,   Due she was, and over due - Galleon,
> merchandise, and crew.
>
> 1897 N.E.D. at Due,   Mod. The train is due in London at 5 a.m. He is
> due at his office next Monday. I must go; I am due at Mr. B.'s at
> seven o'clock.
>
>
>
> There is also the common phrase "due date" associated with pregnancy.
>
> One Look and a Google search show that some references connect "due
> date" with pregnancy but apparently OED does not (or I missed it).
>
> Macmillan
> the date on which something is planned or expected to happen, for
> example when money must be paid or when a pregnant woman expects to
> have her baby
> http://www.macmillandictionary.com/dictionary/american/due-date
>
> Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
> the date on which something is supposed to happen:
> [British English] Fewer than five percent of women have their babies
> on their due date.
> http://www.ldoceonline.com/dictionary/due-date
>
> Wiktionary
> The date on which a pregnant woman is expected to give birth.
> http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/due_date
>
> Wordnik
> [Includes the Wikitionary entry]
> http://m.wordnik.com/words/due%20date
>
> OED has the phrase "due date" under "due" but it seems to only be
> associated with the payment of a bill.
>
> due, adj. and adv.
> 11. Phrases and Comb., as   due-bill n. U.S. (see quot. a1864).  due
> date n. the date on which a bill falls due and is payable.�€  due day n.
> Obs. the day on which any payment falls due.
>
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