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What does “That was like three seconds†mean?
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I was watching the movie "Eternal sunshine of the spotless mind" when I heard the phrase "That was like three seconds" from Kate Winslet.
You can find this phrase at 01:14:25.
She and Jim Carrey were kidding and playing. She held a pillow tightly over his face, then he pretended to be dead (suffocated) in order to frighten her.
She was very scared, but when she found out that it was just a joke, she said:
- Oh, my God. That was terrible. That was like three seconds.
What did she mean? I searched the web, but none of the meanings that I found for "second" or "three seconds" makes sense in this context.
meaning-in-context movie-dialogue
asked 3 hours ago
helen
3,25511032
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show 2 more comments
up vote
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favorite
I was watching the movie "Eternal sunshine of the spotless mind" when I heard the phrase "That was like three seconds" from Kate Winslet.
You can find this phrase at 01:14:25.
She and Jim Carrey were kidding and playing. She held a pillow tightly over his face, then he pretended to be dead (suffocated) in order to frighten her.
She was very scared, but when she found out that it was just a joke, she said:
- Oh, my God. That was terrible. That was like three seconds.
What did she mean? I searched the web, but none of the meanings that I found for "second" or "three seconds" makes sense in this context.
meaning-in-context movie-dialogue
asked 3 hours ago
helen
3,25511032
1
Think of like in this context as a colloquial / uneducated alternative to about - or indeed just a meaningless "filler" word. Obviously the actual sense intended is That was only three seconds, but don't make the mistake of supposing like could reasonably be used to mean only, just, merely in any other contexts.
– FumbleFingers
2 hours ago
2
It really is not uneducated. It has become standard spoken speech for all young people regardless of ethnicity, education, class background,religion or anything else. It peppers so much speech these days. The other day I heard a young journalist on CNN stop herself from saying it and switch to about. It all started in California.....:)
– Lambie
2 hours ago
I agree that this use of like is a very poor indicator of education level. @FumbleFingers, why would you suggest this like is filler? It has a very clear meaning to me - in fact, the very same meaning as you've identified. It's used to signify an approximation. To me, "that was three seconds" and "that was, like, three seconds" clearly differ in their degree of certitude. In the latter case, the speaker says that the period of time was similar to (but not exactly like) a period of three seconds.
– Juhasz
2 hours ago
@Lambie: To quote Wikipedia, such use of like (as a "discourse marker", with little semantic content from the perspective of nns learners) has long been stigmatized in formal speech or in high cultural or high social settings. You might disagree with people who see it that way, but the fact remains they still exist (and very likely in greater numbers within educational establishments trying to teach their students "proper" English). And after all, why did your "young journalist on CNN stop herself from saying it"?
– FumbleFingers
2 hours ago
@FumbleFingers. Of course, it can be a discourse marker, I agree 100%. But in spoken language, it is acceptable in informal circles. I actually think it was picked up by middle-class kids in California. My nephew who graduated from a top college summa cum laude uses it in speech all the time. Beatniks used it in the fifties. "Like, man, if you’re Beat, where else is there to go but Greenwich Village, Earth? Like, it’s Endsville, man, you dig?" Then, the skateboarders, surfers and snowboarders got a hold of it. allthatsinteresting.com/beatniks-photographs-new-york
– Lambie
1 hour ago
 |Â
show 2 more comments
up vote
2
down vote
favorite
up vote
2
down vote
favorite
I was watching the movie "Eternal sunshine of the spotless mind" when I heard the phrase "That was like three seconds" from Kate Winslet.
You can find this phrase at 01:14:25.
She and Jim Carrey were kidding and playing. She held a pillow tightly over his face, then he pretended to be dead (suffocated) in order to frighten her.
She was very scared, but when she found out that it was just a joke, she said:
- Oh, my God. That was terrible. That was like three seconds.
What did she mean? I searched the web, but none of the meanings that I found for "second" or "three seconds" makes sense in this context.
meaning-in-context movie-dialogue
asked 3 hours ago
helen
3,25511032
I was watching the movie "Eternal sunshine of the spotless mind" when I heard the phrase "That was like three seconds" from Kate Winslet.
You can find this phrase at 01:14:25.
She and Jim Carrey were kidding and playing. She held a pillow tightly over his face, then he pretended to be dead (suffocated) in order to frighten her.
She was very scared, but when she found out that it was just a joke, she said:
- Oh, my God. That was terrible. That was like three seconds.
What did she mean? I searched the web, but none of the meanings that I found for "second" or "three seconds" makes sense in this context.
meaning-in-context movie-dialogue
meaning-in-context movie-dialogue
asked 3 hours ago
helen
3,25511032
asked 3 hours ago
helen
3,25511032
edited 3 hours ago
asked 3 hours ago
helen
3,25511032
asked 3 hours ago
helen
3,25511032
asked 3 hours ago
helen
3,25511032
3,25511032
1
Think of like in this context as a colloquial / uneducated alternative to about - or indeed just a meaningless "filler" word. Obviously the actual sense intended is That was only three seconds, but don't make the mistake of supposing like could reasonably be used to mean only, just, merely in any other contexts.
– FumbleFingers
2 hours ago
2
It really is not uneducated. It has become standard spoken speech for all young people regardless of ethnicity, education, class background,religion or anything else. It peppers so much speech these days. The other day I heard a young journalist on CNN stop herself from saying it and switch to about. It all started in California.....:)
– Lambie
2 hours ago
I agree that this use of like is a very poor indicator of education level. @FumbleFingers, why would you suggest this like is filler? It has a very clear meaning to me - in fact, the very same meaning as you've identified. It's used to signify an approximation. To me, "that was three seconds" and "that was, like, three seconds" clearly differ in their degree of certitude. In the latter case, the speaker says that the period of time was similar to (but not exactly like) a period of three seconds.
– Juhasz
2 hours ago
@Lambie: To quote Wikipedia, such use of like (as a "discourse marker", with little semantic content from the perspective of nns learners) has long been stigmatized in formal speech or in high cultural or high social settings. You might disagree with people who see it that way, but the fact remains they still exist (and very likely in greater numbers within educational establishments trying to teach their students "proper" English). And after all, why did your "young journalist on CNN stop herself from saying it"?
– FumbleFingers
2 hours ago
@FumbleFingers. Of course, it can be a discourse marker, I agree 100%. But in spoken language, it is acceptable in informal circles. I actually think it was picked up by middle-class kids in California. My nephew who graduated from a top college summa cum laude uses it in speech all the time. Beatniks used it in the fifties. "Like, man, if you’re Beat, where else is there to go but Greenwich Village, Earth? Like, it’s Endsville, man, you dig?" Then, the skateboarders, surfers and snowboarders got a hold of it. allthatsinteresting.com/beatniks-photographs-new-york
– Lambie
1 hour ago
 |Â
show 2 more comments
1
Think of like in this context as a colloquial / uneducated alternative to about - or indeed just a meaningless "filler" word. Obviously the actual sense intended is That was only three seconds, but don't make the mistake of supposing like could reasonably be used to mean only, just, merely in any other contexts.
– FumbleFingers
2 hours ago
2
It really is not uneducated. It has become standard spoken speech for all young people regardless of ethnicity, education, class background,religion or anything else. It peppers so much speech these days. The other day I heard a young journalist on CNN stop herself from saying it and switch to about. It all started in California.....:)
– Lambie
2 hours ago
I agree that this use of like is a very poor indicator of education level. @FumbleFingers, why would you suggest this like is filler? It has a very clear meaning to me - in fact, the very same meaning as you've identified. It's used to signify an approximation. To me, "that was three seconds" and "that was, like, three seconds" clearly differ in their degree of certitude. In the latter case, the speaker says that the period of time was similar to (but not exactly like) a period of three seconds.
– Juhasz
2 hours ago
@Lambie: To quote Wikipedia, such use of like (as a "discourse marker", with little semantic content from the perspective of nns learners) has long been stigmatized in formal speech or in high cultural or high social settings. You might disagree with people who see it that way, but the fact remains they still exist (and very likely in greater numbers within educational establishments trying to teach their students "proper" English). And after all, why did your "young journalist on CNN stop herself from saying it"?
– FumbleFingers
2 hours ago
@FumbleFingers. Of course, it can be a discourse marker, I agree 100%. But in spoken language, it is acceptable in informal circles. I actually think it was picked up by middle-class kids in California. My nephew who graduated from a top college summa cum laude uses it in speech all the time. Beatniks used it in the fifties. "Like, man, if you’re Beat, where else is there to go but Greenwich Village, Earth? Like, it’s Endsville, man, you dig?" Then, the skateboarders, surfers and snowboarders got a hold of it. allthatsinteresting.com/beatniks-photographs-new-york
– Lambie
1 hour ago
1
1
Think of like in this context as a colloquial / uneducated alternative to about - or indeed just a meaningless "filler" word. Obviously the actual sense intended is That was only three seconds, but don't make the mistake of supposing like could reasonably be used to mean only, just, merely in any other contexts.
– FumbleFingers
2 hours ago
Think of like in this context as a colloquial / uneducated alternative to about - or indeed just a meaningless "filler" word. Obviously the actual sense intended is That was only three seconds, but don't make the mistake of supposing like could reasonably be used to mean only, just, merely in any other contexts.
– FumbleFingers
2 hours ago
2
2
It really is not uneducated. It has become standard spoken speech for all young people regardless of ethnicity, education, class background,religion or anything else. It peppers so much speech these days. The other day I heard a young journalist on CNN stop herself from saying it and switch to about. It all started in California.....:)
– Lambie
2 hours ago
It really is not uneducated. It has become standard spoken speech for all young people regardless of ethnicity, education, class background,religion or anything else. It peppers so much speech these days. The other day I heard a young journalist on CNN stop herself from saying it and switch to about. It all started in California.....:)
– Lambie
2 hours ago
I agree that this use of like is a very poor indicator of education level. @FumbleFingers, why would you suggest this like is filler? It has a very clear meaning to me - in fact, the very same meaning as you've identified. It's used to signify an approximation. To me, "that was three seconds" and "that was, like, three seconds" clearly differ in their degree of certitude. In the latter case, the speaker says that the period of time was similar to (but not exactly like) a period of three seconds.
– Juhasz
2 hours ago
I agree that this use of like is a very poor indicator of education level. @FumbleFingers, why would you suggest this like is filler? It has a very clear meaning to me - in fact, the very same meaning as you've identified. It's used to signify an approximation. To me, "that was three seconds" and "that was, like, three seconds" clearly differ in their degree of certitude. In the latter case, the speaker says that the period of time was similar to (but not exactly like) a period of three seconds.
– Juhasz
2 hours ago
@Lambie: To quote Wikipedia, such use of like (as a "discourse marker", with little semantic content from the perspective of nns learners) has long been stigmatized in formal speech or in high cultural or high social settings. You might disagree with people who see it that way, but the fact remains they still exist (and very likely in greater numbers within educational establishments trying to teach their students "proper" English). And after all, why did your "young journalist on CNN stop herself from saying it"?
– FumbleFingers
2 hours ago
@Lambie: To quote Wikipedia, such use of like (as a "discourse marker", with little semantic content from the perspective of nns learners) has long been stigmatized in formal speech or in high cultural or high social settings. You might disagree with people who see it that way, but the fact remains they still exist (and very likely in greater numbers within educational establishments trying to teach their students "proper" English). And after all, why did your "young journalist on CNN stop herself from saying it"?
– FumbleFingers
2 hours ago
@FumbleFingers. Of course, it can be a discourse marker, I agree 100%. But in spoken language, it is acceptable in informal circles. I actually think it was picked up by middle-class kids in California. My nephew who graduated from a top college summa cum laude uses it in speech all the time. Beatniks used it in the fifties. "Like, man, if you’re Beat, where else is there to go but Greenwich Village, Earth? Like, it’s Endsville, man, you dig?" Then, the skateboarders, surfers and snowboarders got a hold of it. allthatsinteresting.com/beatniks-photographs-new-york
– Lambie
1 hour ago
@FumbleFingers. Of course, it can be a discourse marker, I agree 100%. But in spoken language, it is acceptable in informal circles. I actually think it was picked up by middle-class kids in California. My nephew who graduated from a top college summa cum laude uses it in speech all the time. Beatniks used it in the fifties. "Like, man, if you’re Beat, where else is there to go but Greenwich Village, Earth? Like, it’s Endsville, man, you dig?" Then, the skateboarders, surfers and snowboarders got a hold of it. allthatsinteresting.com/beatniks-photographs-new-york
– Lambie
1 hour ago
 |Â
show 2 more comments
3 Answers
3
active
oldest
votes
up vote
4
down vote
here is a cartoon from The New Yorker magazine, 1928.
The use of like for about or as a discourse marker goes way back.
It was also common usage by Beatniks. Somehow,it's been around a long time.
It is used by young people a lot even today. It's origin is not really working class. It is used in informal speech. It would be frowned on in any formal setting.
Beatnik usage (1950's):
Beatniks were generally middle-class drop outs. Not from the working (''uneducated") classes. Definition: Like: a word used to add emphasis. "He was, like, mad!" –
Beatnik slang
use of like as a discourse marker in a 1928 cartoon]2
answered 1 hour ago
Lambie
12.8k1331
2
I think your dated cartoon emphasizes an important point: it's not, like, the use of this word that some people find annoying or "uneducated" – it's more the overuse of the word (where it's used, like, several times in one paragraph, for example).
– J.R.♦
1 hour ago
@J.R. It is exactly like that but the punctuation is missing: No, he's got, like, an office. That is the only reading that would make sense. The fact it is used so many times in speech by some speakers today does not explain where it came about. Also, some speakers may use it only once and not, like, keep repeating it. Maybe, it originated in NYC.
– Lambie
1 hour ago
add a comment |Â
up vote
3
down vote
It just means that the duration was approximately three seconds long. She is either referring to how long she held down the pillow or to how long he was pretending to be dead, but I can't find the clip online to confirm.
answered 3 hours ago
Tashus
7745
add a comment |Â
up vote
1
down vote
"Like" here is functioning as a particle rather than an adverb - she is not comparing anything to "three seconds", but saying that she was only holding him down for three seconds, which shouldn't have been enough time to smother him.
answered 2 hours ago
Alan T.
566
New contributor
Alan T. is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
I'd say that she is comparing something to "three seconds." She's comparing the amount of time Jim Carey's character held his breath to "three seconds." Something like: "That [amount of time you held your breath] was like [a period of time lasting] three seconds."
– Juhasz
2 hours ago
Could she be saying that his feigning death lasted a little too long for a joke? So not "only" but "a full"?
– TᴚoɯÉÂuo
2 hours ago
add a comment |Â
3 Answers
3
active
oldest
votes
3 Answers
3
active
oldest
votes
active
oldest
votes
active
oldest
votes
up vote
4
down vote
here is a cartoon from The New Yorker magazine, 1928.
The use of like for about or as a discourse marker goes way back.
It was also common usage by Beatniks. Somehow,it's been around a long time.
It is used by young people a lot even today. It's origin is not really working class. It is used in informal speech. It would be frowned on in any formal setting.
Beatnik usage (1950's):
Beatniks were generally middle-class drop outs. Not from the working (''uneducated") classes. Definition: Like: a word used to add emphasis. "He was, like, mad!" –
Beatnik slang
use of like as a discourse marker in a 1928 cartoon]2
answered 1 hour ago
Lambie
12.8k1331
2
I think your dated cartoon emphasizes an important point: it's not, like, the use of this word that some people find annoying or "uneducated" – it's more the overuse of the word (where it's used, like, several times in one paragraph, for example).
– J.R.♦
1 hour ago
@J.R. It is exactly like that but the punctuation is missing: No, he's got, like, an office. That is the only reading that would make sense. The fact it is used so many times in speech by some speakers today does not explain where it came about. Also, some speakers may use it only once and not, like, keep repeating it. Maybe, it originated in NYC.
– Lambie
1 hour ago
add a comment |Â
up vote
4
down vote
here is a cartoon from The New Yorker magazine, 1928.
The use of like for about or as a discourse marker goes way back.
It was also common usage by Beatniks. Somehow,it's been around a long time.
It is used by young people a lot even today. It's origin is not really working class. It is used in informal speech. It would be frowned on in any formal setting.
Beatnik usage (1950's):
Beatniks were generally middle-class drop outs. Not from the working (''uneducated") classes. Definition: Like: a word used to add emphasis. "He was, like, mad!" –
Beatnik slang
use of like as a discourse marker in a 1928 cartoon]2
answered 1 hour ago
Lambie
12.8k1331
2
I think your dated cartoon emphasizes an important point: it's not, like, the use of this word that some people find annoying or "uneducated" – it's more the overuse of the word (where it's used, like, several times in one paragraph, for example).
– J.R.♦
1 hour ago
@J.R. It is exactly like that but the punctuation is missing: No, he's got, like, an office. That is the only reading that would make sense. The fact it is used so many times in speech by some speakers today does not explain where it came about. Also, some speakers may use it only once and not, like, keep repeating it. Maybe, it originated in NYC.
– Lambie
1 hour ago
add a comment |Â
up vote
4
down vote
up vote
4
down vote
here is a cartoon from The New Yorker magazine, 1928.
The use of like for about or as a discourse marker goes way back.
It was also common usage by Beatniks. Somehow,it's been around a long time.
It is used by young people a lot even today. It's origin is not really working class. It is used in informal speech. It would be frowned on in any formal setting.
Beatnik usage (1950's):
Beatniks were generally middle-class drop outs. Not from the working (''uneducated") classes. Definition: Like: a word used to add emphasis. "He was, like, mad!" –
Beatnik slang
use of like as a discourse marker in a 1928 cartoon]2
answered 1 hour ago
Lambie
12.8k1331
here is a cartoon from The New Yorker magazine, 1928.
The use of like for about or as a discourse marker goes way back.
It was also common usage by Beatniks. Somehow,it's been around a long time.
It is used by young people a lot even today. It's origin is not really working class. It is used in informal speech. It would be frowned on in any formal setting.
Beatnik usage (1950's):
Beatniks were generally middle-class drop outs. Not from the working (''uneducated") classes. Definition: Like: a word used to add emphasis. "He was, like, mad!" –
Beatnik slang
use of like as a discourse marker in a 1928 cartoon]2
answered 1 hour ago
Lambie
12.8k1331
answered 1 hour ago
Lambie
12.8k1331
answered 1 hour ago
Lambie
12.8k1331
answered 1 hour ago
Lambie
12.8k1331
12.8k1331
2
I think your dated cartoon emphasizes an important point: it's not, like, the use of this word that some people find annoying or "uneducated" – it's more the overuse of the word (where it's used, like, several times in one paragraph, for example).
– J.R.♦
1 hour ago
@J.R. It is exactly like that but the punctuation is missing: No, he's got, like, an office. That is the only reading that would make sense. The fact it is used so many times in speech by some speakers today does not explain where it came about. Also, some speakers may use it only once and not, like, keep repeating it. Maybe, it originated in NYC.
– Lambie
1 hour ago
add a comment |Â
2
I think your dated cartoon emphasizes an important point: it's not, like, the use of this word that some people find annoying or "uneducated" – it's more the overuse of the word (where it's used, like, several times in one paragraph, for example).
– J.R.♦
1 hour ago
@J.R. It is exactly like that but the punctuation is missing: No, he's got, like, an office. That is the only reading that would make sense. The fact it is used so many times in speech by some speakers today does not explain where it came about. Also, some speakers may use it only once and not, like, keep repeating it. Maybe, it originated in NYC.
– Lambie
1 hour ago
2
2
I think your dated cartoon emphasizes an important point: it's not, like, the use of this word that some people find annoying or "uneducated" – it's more the overuse of the word (where it's used, like, several times in one paragraph, for example).
– J.R.♦
1 hour ago
I think your dated cartoon emphasizes an important point: it's not, like, the use of this word that some people find annoying or "uneducated" – it's more the overuse of the word (where it's used, like, several times in one paragraph, for example).
– J.R.♦
1 hour ago
@J.R. It is exactly like that but the punctuation is missing: No, he's got, like, an office. That is the only reading that would make sense. The fact it is used so many times in speech by some speakers today does not explain where it came about. Also, some speakers may use it only once and not, like, keep repeating it. Maybe, it originated in NYC.
– Lambie
1 hour ago
@J.R. It is exactly like that but the punctuation is missing: No, he's got, like, an office. That is the only reading that would make sense. The fact it is used so many times in speech by some speakers today does not explain where it came about. Also, some speakers may use it only once and not, like, keep repeating it. Maybe, it originated in NYC.
– Lambie
1 hour ago
add a comment |Â
up vote
3
down vote
It just means that the duration was approximately three seconds long. She is either referring to how long she held down the pillow or to how long he was pretending to be dead, but I can't find the clip online to confirm.
answered 3 hours ago
Tashus
7745
add a comment |Â
up vote
3
down vote
It just means that the duration was approximately three seconds long. She is either referring to how long she held down the pillow or to how long he was pretending to be dead, but I can't find the clip online to confirm.
answered 3 hours ago
Tashus
7745
add a comment |Â
up vote
3
down vote
up vote
3
down vote
It just means that the duration was approximately three seconds long. She is either referring to how long she held down the pillow or to how long he was pretending to be dead, but I can't find the clip online to confirm.
answered 3 hours ago
Tashus
7745
It just means that the duration was approximately three seconds long. She is either referring to how long she held down the pillow or to how long he was pretending to be dead, but I can't find the clip online to confirm.
answered 3 hours ago
Tashus
7745
answered 3 hours ago
Tashus
7745
answered 3 hours ago
Tashus
7745
answered 3 hours ago
Tashus
7745
7745
add a comment |Â
add a comment |Â
up vote
1
down vote
"Like" here is functioning as a particle rather than an adverb - she is not comparing anything to "three seconds", but saying that she was only holding him down for three seconds, which shouldn't have been enough time to smother him.
answered 2 hours ago
Alan T.
566
New contributor
Alan T. is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
I'd say that she is comparing something to "three seconds." She's comparing the amount of time Jim Carey's character held his breath to "three seconds." Something like: "That [amount of time you held your breath] was like [a period of time lasting] three seconds."
– Juhasz
2 hours ago
Could she be saying that his feigning death lasted a little too long for a joke? So not "only" but "a full"?
– TᴚoɯÉÂuo
2 hours ago
add a comment |Â
up vote
1
down vote
"Like" here is functioning as a particle rather than an adverb - she is not comparing anything to "three seconds", but saying that she was only holding him down for three seconds, which shouldn't have been enough time to smother him.
answered 2 hours ago
Alan T.
566
New contributor
Alan T. is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
I'd say that she is comparing something to "three seconds." She's comparing the amount of time Jim Carey's character held his breath to "three seconds." Something like: "That [amount of time you held your breath] was like [a period of time lasting] three seconds."
– Juhasz
2 hours ago
Could she be saying that his feigning death lasted a little too long for a joke? So not "only" but "a full"?
– TᴚoɯÉÂuo
2 hours ago
add a comment |Â
up vote
1
down vote
up vote
1
down vote
"Like" here is functioning as a particle rather than an adverb - she is not comparing anything to "three seconds", but saying that she was only holding him down for three seconds, which shouldn't have been enough time to smother him.
answered 2 hours ago
Alan T.
566
New contributor
Alan T. is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
"Like" here is functioning as a particle rather than an adverb - she is not comparing anything to "three seconds", but saying that she was only holding him down for three seconds, which shouldn't have been enough time to smother him.
answered 2 hours ago
Alan T.
566
New contributor
Alan T. is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
answered 2 hours ago
Alan T.
566
New contributor
Alan T. is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
answered 2 hours ago
Alan T.
566
answered 2 hours ago
Alan T.
566
566
New contributor
Alan T. is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
New contributor
Alan T. is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
Alan T. is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
I'd say that she is comparing something to "three seconds." She's comparing the amount of time Jim Carey's character held his breath to "three seconds." Something like: "That [amount of time you held your breath] was like [a period of time lasting] three seconds."
– Juhasz
2 hours ago
Could she be saying that his feigning death lasted a little too long for a joke? So not "only" but "a full"?
– TᴚoɯÉÂuo
2 hours ago
add a comment |Â
I'd say that she is comparing something to "three seconds." She's comparing the amount of time Jim Carey's character held his breath to "three seconds." Something like: "That [amount of time you held your breath] was like [a period of time lasting] three seconds."
– Juhasz
2 hours ago
Could she be saying that his feigning death lasted a little too long for a joke? So not "only" but "a full"?
– TᴚoɯÉÂuo
2 hours ago
I'd say that she is comparing something to "three seconds." She's comparing the amount of time Jim Carey's character held his breath to "three seconds." Something like: "That [amount of time you held your breath] was like [a period of time lasting] three seconds."
– Juhasz
2 hours ago
I'd say that she is comparing something to "three seconds." She's comparing the amount of time Jim Carey's character held his breath to "three seconds." Something like: "That [amount of time you held your breath] was like [a period of time lasting] three seconds."
– Juhasz
2 hours ago
Could she be saying that his feigning death lasted a little too long for a joke? So not "only" but "a full"?
– TᴚoɯÉÂuo
2 hours ago
Could she be saying that his feigning death lasted a little too long for a joke? So not "only" but "a full"?
– TᴚoɯÉÂuo
2 hours ago
add a comment |Â
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1
Think of like in this context as a colloquial / uneducated alternative to about - or indeed just a meaningless "filler" word. Obviously the actual sense intended is That was only three seconds, but don't make the mistake of supposing like could reasonably be used to mean only, just, merely in any other contexts.
– FumbleFingers
2 hours ago
2
It really is not uneducated. It has become standard spoken speech for all young people regardless of ethnicity, education, class background,religion or anything else. It peppers so much speech these days. The other day I heard a young journalist on CNN stop herself from saying it and switch to about. It all started in California.....:)
– Lambie
2 hours ago
I agree that this use of like is a very poor indicator of education level. @FumbleFingers, why would you suggest this like is filler? It has a very clear meaning to me - in fact, the very same meaning as you've identified. It's used to signify an approximation. To me, "that was three seconds" and "that was, like, three seconds" clearly differ in their degree of certitude. In the latter case, the speaker says that the period of time was similar to (but not exactly like) a period of three seconds.
– Juhasz
2 hours ago
@Lambie: To quote Wikipedia, such use of like (as a "discourse marker", with little semantic content from the perspective of nns learners) has long been stigmatized in formal speech or in high cultural or high social settings. You might disagree with people who see it that way, but the fact remains they still exist (and very likely in greater numbers within educational establishments trying to teach their students "proper" English). And after all, why did your "young journalist on CNN stop herself from saying it"?
– FumbleFingers
2 hours ago
@FumbleFingers. Of course, it can be a discourse marker, I agree 100%. But in spoken language, it is acceptable in informal circles. I actually think it was picked up by middle-class kids in California. My nephew who graduated from a top college summa cum laude uses it in speech all the time. Beatniks used it in the fifties. "Like, man, if you’re Beat, where else is there to go but Greenwich Village, Earth? Like, it’s Endsville, man, you dig?" Then, the skateboarders, surfers and snowboarders got a hold of it. allthatsinteresting.com/beatniks-photographs-new-york
– Lambie
1 hour ago