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copymasters
left of center
Nov 22, 2011 04:11
12 yrs ago
3 viewers *
English term

"To PUSH BACK/OFF (doING) something" meaning POSTPONE?

English Other Linguistics Colloquialisms
Though somewhat rare in occurrence, I do stumble on sentences like "(...)usually push off doing my laundry until weekend."
Now for the snag: there is not a single lexicographical reference to this colloquial pattern - or not that I have found, even raking over the Net. Safe to use "push back/off" to convey this purport? Any dictionary showing this as standard? Thanks.
Responses
4 +12 see explanation
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Discussion

Charles Davis Nov 22, 2011:
Not widely attested I have not found "push off" with this meaning in any mainstream English dictionary. Apart from the Wiktionary entry I quoted, it is also here:
http://www.wordnik.com/words/push off?suggested_from=push-of...

If you do a Google search for "push off" + "postpone" you will find some examples. However, although all this shows that some people do use "push off" to mean "postpone", I would still say it is not standard and that it would be better not to imitate it.
FNO (asker) Nov 22, 2011:
To pal Mr. Davis... Thanks so very much for the great looking out, Davis. But for safety's sake in the usage, have you gotten to find it rostered in any English phrasal verbs and slang collection other than Wiki too?
Charles Davis Nov 22, 2011:
Apologies It looks as though I'm going to have to eat my words. It's in Wiktionary, among other places:
"push off
3. (transitive) To delay, postpone, put off, push back."
http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/push_off

And yes, there are other examples when you look. Moral: look it up before you sound off. It's still unfamiliar to me, and I strongly suspect it's a hybrid of "put off" and "push back", but there it is. It seems to be used mostly in the sense of "stave off": delay something inevitable but undesirable, as in the Fledermaus quotation, or in "the European Central Bank (ECB) will attempt to push off the day of reckoning".
FNO (asker) Nov 22, 2011:
Never heard of it too, but then... The story of "Die Fledermaus" centers around playboy Gabriel von Eisenstein, who has been sentenced to a jail term after a run-in with a public official. Eisenstein pushes off serving his sentence a night for one last hurrah after he is invited to Prince Orlofsky’s masked ball, a party not to be missed.
Charles Davis Nov 22, 2011:
Push off Well, it could be mildly amusing, I suppose. "Push off" does exist as a standard (intransitive) phrasal verb, meaning "get going": either push off from the bank in a boat, or as an imperative: "get lost", "scram".
Charles Davis Nov 22, 2011:
Completely agree with Chiara "Push off" for "postpone" is not to be imitated. As Chiara says, "put off" is the standard expression, and a very common one which certainly can be imitated. "Push off" could be just a slip of the tongue (or pen) or it could be a personal malapropism, either accidental or deliberate. Some people have a way of slightly distorting common expressions. As the term "malapropism" indicates, this has been a source of humour for a long time (though it's not humorous in this particular case).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malapropism

And yes, "push back" is another matter; this is standard, though to me it sounds a bit odd in the context of doing your laundry.
eccotraduttrice Nov 22, 2011:
Well, there's the beauty of English -- we can use non-standard expressions for emphasis or sheer idiosyncrasy. But it's still a non-standard expression.
FNO (asker) Nov 22, 2011:
To Chiara. [...]'On top of that, not having one (washing machine)in my apartment makes me push off doing laundry, so when I do have to haul it to the machines I have at least four loads to do."

Responses

+12
17 mins
English term (edited): \"to push back/off (doing) something\" meaning postpone?
Selected

see explanation

What I usually hear or say in the context you give is "put off"- j"put off doing my laundry until next weekend." Usually "push back" is used in a business context when discussing meetings - to "push back" a meeting would be to postpone it. But "push off" isn't normally used to mean "postpone" at all.
Peer comment(s):
agree Ildiko Santana : (((Why put it off? Start procrastinating today! :)))
50 mins
agree Michael Wise :
53 mins
agree Ty Kendall : Same story in UK English, put off / push back = postpone.
1 hr
agree Liz Dexter (was Broomfield)
1 hr
agree Stephen D
1 hr
agree Jim Tucker (X)
1 hr
agree meirs : the opposite - in business - is to "pull in" - make it happen earlier than originally planned (the delivery of something for example)
3 hrs
agree Jenni Lukac (X)
4 hrs
agree Thayenga
4 hrs
agree Charles Davis
5 hrs
agree Phong Le
7 hrs
agree jccantrell : I have also seen "push to the right" for this in a schedule/business sense cause time runs from left to right in MS Project.
10 hrs
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4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer. Comment: "Selected automatically based on peer agreement."
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