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Subject:Re: Line vs. queue... From:"Mary T. Shaw" <smartblonde57 -at- yahoo -dot- com> To:"TECHWR-L" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com> Date:Fri, 7 Jun 2002 19:30:07 -0700 (PDT)
--- Sandy Harris <pashley -at- storm -dot- ca> wrote:
> However, I've heard some Americans use "waiting on
> line" where I could
> only say "in line". Does that depend on dialect or
> formality or what?
I think that we USAnians typically stand "in line".
However, a few years ago, I had just come home from an
extended stay in England, where one stands "on queue"
or "on line", and I was still speaking as though I
were still on that side of the pond. (I pick up
language idiosyncrasies pretty easily.) I was in a
store finding my way to the check-out line. I wanted
to make sure not to jump ahead of anyone in the
somewhat haphazard-looking line, so I went up to the
woman who appeared to be last in line and asked,
"Excuse me, are you on line?"
She gave me a very condescending look and declared,
"I'm IN LINE!!!!".
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