real time, again

[Victor Steinbok]

Another item that came up from the same document dump is multiple use of
"radio silence"--once in the same question from the reporter (why have
you guys not said anything on the subject); the other from the main
antagonist in the case, Wildstein, when he essentially instructed his
cohorts not to communicate with another reporter asking questions (that
one really was *in real time*, i.e., as the traffic jam was unfolding,
on September 12; the previously mentioned correspondence was months
later--November 13).

     VS-)



On 1/12/2014 10:55 AM, Victor Steinbok wrote:
> An exchange from the Bridgegate email dump:
>
>> Reporter: Is there any reason you guys aren't weighing in on this
>> stuff with the George Washington Bridge? ...
>> A. What's the deal with this one?
>> B. Let's talk in real time.
>
> It seems, "in real time" here is what used to go by "IRL" ("in real
> life", i.e., in-person vs. via computer chat or email or instant
> messaging, etc.)
>
> "In real life" makes some sense. "In real time" really doesn't. Could
> it be a kind of phrasal eggcorn? These are old political hacks, not
> teenage tech addicts.
>
>     VS-)
>

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