Today at work, through a bizarre series of non-sequiturs, I ended up discussing with my employee the Shakespearean meaning of “anon”, and whether it specifically means “in a minute” (i.e., an expectation of shortly, like “I come anon!”), or if it generally means “sometime soon”, like “I will speak with you anon”. Is there a difference? Perhaps the word means the same thing, and it is the delivery that determines the difference.
Anon is somwhat plastic and is definitely dependent on the context. Most often it means “soon” or “presently,” but as with the Italian “subito,” it can just mean some time in the future that the hearer wants to be soon and the speaker knows very well will not! On the other hand, there are also some instances where anon means “the moment after” as “now and anon” comparable to “now and then.” Also, the phrase “now . . . anon” means “at one moment . . . at the next.” See Abbott’s Elizabethan Grammar, p. 39.
What was it Humpty said to Alice – When I use a word, it means just what I want it to mean – nothing more, nothing less?
Dictionaries hadn’t been invented – words were (and are) flexible – meaning is negotiated.
I go with ‘immediate’ – in Romanian usually meaning, if you are lucky, the waiter will be back in 5 to 10 mins.
It can also mean – ‘I heard you’.
Or – ‘not a cat in hells chance, mate’.
So too, with anon – OK?
fobnqruk! (Anon)
The Society for the Preservation of the Adverb would point out that you must have meant to say “immediately” rather than “immediate.”
Ermmm – what was it Humpty said?
As I said, “in Romanian” …!
Classic ‘false friend’ – and warning about defining meaning in one culture for a usage in another?
Romania is fascinating place for all things Shakespearean – very early modern in outlook and attitude (and consequent usage of the language to reflect that).
Pray, do be more specific; what do you mean by, “very early modern in outlook and attitude”?
I’m still smiling at a vocabulary sentence one of my eighth graders handed in this past school year while we were studying Shakespeare:
Anon, Mom! I was just tying my sneakers!
~Rose
Well, I hope you gave the girl/boy a pass … he’s technically not mucked it up too much.
It’s adorably cute, I’d love to have heard my son say, “Anon, anon; I’m putting my sneakers on!”
@Jude:
…or, with better rhyme and iamb, “Anon, pater, anon. I put my sneakers on.”
in New Zealand, “momentarily” means for just a few seconds. it was surprising for this kiwi to find it being used to convey ” in a moment”.
I’ll be there momentarily.
Ill be there but not for long/ i’ll be there soon.
culture wars – i have been trying to use “anon” appropriately in my self talk – the problem i am experiencing led me to this site. I am discovering the Q Anon phenomenon in which it is like Alice in Wonderland – there is no certainty anymore. The person who sounds the most authoritative gains those followers who cannot handle the frightening probability/ predictability/ potential of reality.
Anon, anon, ’tis the path to hell they’re on. The rest of us delight in Logos.