does this mean what I think it means - 4th last time
I'm moving out of my current place in a few days. When I'm doing something a little annoying to my roommate, I joke, "sorry, this is (will be) like the 4th last time I do this", to mean that I'm only gonna do it 3 (a few) more times, so don't sweat, and forgive me. Am I using "4th last time" right?
phrases
asked yesterday
kalkal
364
add a comment |
I'm moving out of my current place in a few days. When I'm doing something a little annoying to my roommate, I joke, "sorry, this is (will be) like the 4th last time I do this", to mean that I'm only gonna do it 3 (a few) more times, so don't sweat, and forgive me. Am I using "4th last time" right?
phrases
asked yesterday
kalkal
364
2
If you wanted to be obtusely verbose about it, you could say "this is my preantepenultimate move." :-)
– Hellion
23 hours ago
2
Expect a response along the lines of “my days of not taking you seriously are certainly coming to a middle”.
– Roman Odaisky
21 hours ago
add a comment |
I'm moving out of my current place in a few days. When I'm doing something a little annoying to my roommate, I joke, "sorry, this is (will be) like the 4th last time I do this", to mean that I'm only gonna do it 3 (a few) more times, so don't sweat, and forgive me. Am I using "4th last time" right?
phrases
asked yesterday
kalkal
364
I'm moving out of my current place in a few days. When I'm doing something a little annoying to my roommate, I joke, "sorry, this is (will be) like the 4th last time I do this", to mean that I'm only gonna do it 3 (a few) more times, so don't sweat, and forgive me. Am I using "4th last time" right?
phrases
phrases
asked yesterday
kalkal
364
asked yesterday
kalkal
364
edited yesterday
kal
asked yesterday
kalkal
364
asked yesterday
kalkal
364
asked yesterday
kalkal
364
364
2
If you wanted to be obtusely verbose about it, you could say "this is my preantepenultimate move." :-)
– Hellion
23 hours ago
2
Expect a response along the lines of “my days of not taking you seriously are certainly coming to a middle”.
– Roman Odaisky
21 hours ago
add a comment |
2
If you wanted to be obtusely verbose about it, you could say "this is my preantepenultimate move." :-)
– Hellion
23 hours ago
2
Expect a response along the lines of “my days of not taking you seriously are certainly coming to a middle”.
– Roman Odaisky
21 hours ago
2
2
If you wanted to be obtusely verbose about it, you could say "this is my preantepenultimate move." :-)
– Hellion
23 hours ago
If you wanted to be obtusely verbose about it, you could say "this is my preantepenultimate move." :-)
– Hellion
23 hours ago
2
2
Expect a response along the lines of “my days of not taking you seriously are certainly coming to a middle”.
– Roman Odaisky
21 hours ago
Expect a response along the lines of “my days of not taking you seriously are certainly coming to a middle”.
– Roman Odaisky
21 hours ago
add a comment |
3 Answers
3
active
oldest
votes
I would always say 4th to last time.
"Fourth last time" sounds like it's the 4th time you're saying it for the last time.
edited 12 hours ago
Kat
36718
answered yesterday
lewkirlewkir
1512
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lewkir is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
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3
I was just about to say the same - to completely avoid ambiguity, 'fourth to last time'
– Smock
yesterday
3
That's where a hyphen would remove the ambiguity: ‘the fourth-last time’ clearly means there will be three more. — Hyphens seem to be out of fashion, but I think they're jolly handy and deserve to be used more! (And if everyone used them, then ‘the fourth last time’ would clearly mean that it follows three other last times.)
– gidds
22 hours ago
1
@gidds A hyphen does indeed disambiguate, but I doubt the asker is submitting jokes to their room-mate in writing.
– David Richerby
21 hours ago
1
@DavidRicherby: Seeing how people these days use their phones to type messages to people in the same room, it wouldn't surprise me! But even in speech, you can hint at hyphenation in your rhythm and timing. (In ‘fourth-last’, the ‘last’ would follow more quickly and with less emphasis than in ‘fourth last’.) After all, punctuation developed as a way of capturing the pauses, emphases, &c of spoken language, and only more recently acquired semantic significance.
– gidds
21 hours ago
add a comment |
Yes, if after saying this, you will, or are planning to, do the same thing 3 more times, then you can definitely say, "Sorry, this was like the 4th last time I do this", or more like "4th last time I plan to do this."
I see nothing wrong with the use of "4th last time" here.
answered yesterday
Bella SwanBella Swan
82710
New contributor
Bella Swan is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
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add a comment |
I read the statement "this is like the 4th last time I do this." to mean you have stated "this is the last time I do this" three times already.
Unless you have said this three times, then I would say you are not using the word "4th" correctly in this manner.
If you are trying to say "I am only doing this three more times", then you could say the phrase "sorry, I have to do this three more times."
answered yesterday
medicine_manmedicine_man
1885
New contributor
medicine_man is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
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4
Wrong. "Fourth last" (or "Nth last") is as common as second-last or third-last. It's completely obvious that "fourth-last" has the same meaning as second-last, third-last, etc.
– Fattie
yesterday
4
although "this is like the 4th 'last time' I do this" would mean it has already been the 'last time' 3 times already
– Smock
yesterday
add a comment |
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3 Answers
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3 Answers
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I would always say 4th to last time.
"Fourth last time" sounds like it's the 4th time you're saying it for the last time.
edited 12 hours ago
Kat
36718
answered yesterday
lewkirlewkir
1512
New contributor
lewkir is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
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3
I was just about to say the same - to completely avoid ambiguity, 'fourth to last time'
– Smock
yesterday
3
That's where a hyphen would remove the ambiguity: ‘the fourth-last time’ clearly means there will be three more. — Hyphens seem to be out of fashion, but I think they're jolly handy and deserve to be used more! (And if everyone used them, then ‘the fourth last time’ would clearly mean that it follows three other last times.)
– gidds
22 hours ago
1
@gidds A hyphen does indeed disambiguate, but I doubt the asker is submitting jokes to their room-mate in writing.
– David Richerby
21 hours ago
1
@DavidRicherby: Seeing how people these days use their phones to type messages to people in the same room, it wouldn't surprise me! But even in speech, you can hint at hyphenation in your rhythm and timing. (In ‘fourth-last’, the ‘last’ would follow more quickly and with less emphasis than in ‘fourth last’.) After all, punctuation developed as a way of capturing the pauses, emphases, &c of spoken language, and only more recently acquired semantic significance.
– gidds
21 hours ago
add a comment |
I would always say 4th to last time.
"Fourth last time" sounds like it's the 4th time you're saying it for the last time.
edited 12 hours ago
Kat
36718
answered yesterday
lewkirlewkir
1512
New contributor
lewkir is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
3
I was just about to say the same - to completely avoid ambiguity, 'fourth to last time'
– Smock
yesterday
3
That's where a hyphen would remove the ambiguity: ‘the fourth-last time’ clearly means there will be three more. — Hyphens seem to be out of fashion, but I think they're jolly handy and deserve to be used more! (And if everyone used them, then ‘the fourth last time’ would clearly mean that it follows three other last times.)
– gidds
22 hours ago
1
@gidds A hyphen does indeed disambiguate, but I doubt the asker is submitting jokes to their room-mate in writing.
– David Richerby
21 hours ago
1
@DavidRicherby: Seeing how people these days use their phones to type messages to people in the same room, it wouldn't surprise me! But even in speech, you can hint at hyphenation in your rhythm and timing. (In ‘fourth-last’, the ‘last’ would follow more quickly and with less emphasis than in ‘fourth last’.) After all, punctuation developed as a way of capturing the pauses, emphases, &c of spoken language, and only more recently acquired semantic significance.
– gidds
21 hours ago
add a comment |
I would always say 4th to last time.
"Fourth last time" sounds like it's the 4th time you're saying it for the last time.
edited 12 hours ago
Kat
36718
answered yesterday
lewkirlewkir
1512
New contributor
lewkir is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
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I would always say 4th to last time.
"Fourth last time" sounds like it's the 4th time you're saying it for the last time.
edited 12 hours ago
Kat
36718
answered yesterday
lewkirlewkir
1512
New contributor
lewkir is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
edited 12 hours ago
Kat
36718
edited 12 hours ago
Kat
36718
edited 12 hours ago
Kat
36718
36718
answered yesterday
lewkirlewkir
1512
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answered yesterday
lewkirlewkir
1512
answered yesterday
lewkirlewkir
1512
1512
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3
I was just about to say the same - to completely avoid ambiguity, 'fourth to last time'
– Smock
yesterday
3
That's where a hyphen would remove the ambiguity: ‘the fourth-last time’ clearly means there will be three more. — Hyphens seem to be out of fashion, but I think they're jolly handy and deserve to be used more! (And if everyone used them, then ‘the fourth last time’ would clearly mean that it follows three other last times.)
– gidds
22 hours ago
1
@gidds A hyphen does indeed disambiguate, but I doubt the asker is submitting jokes to their room-mate in writing.
– David Richerby
21 hours ago
1
@DavidRicherby: Seeing how people these days use their phones to type messages to people in the same room, it wouldn't surprise me! But even in speech, you can hint at hyphenation in your rhythm and timing. (In ‘fourth-last’, the ‘last’ would follow more quickly and with less emphasis than in ‘fourth last’.) After all, punctuation developed as a way of capturing the pauses, emphases, &c of spoken language, and only more recently acquired semantic significance.
– gidds
21 hours ago
add a comment |
3
I was just about to say the same - to completely avoid ambiguity, 'fourth to last time'
– Smock
yesterday
3
That's where a hyphen would remove the ambiguity: ‘the fourth-last time’ clearly means there will be three more. — Hyphens seem to be out of fashion, but I think they're jolly handy and deserve to be used more! (And if everyone used them, then ‘the fourth last time’ would clearly mean that it follows three other last times.)
– gidds
22 hours ago
1
@gidds A hyphen does indeed disambiguate, but I doubt the asker is submitting jokes to their room-mate in writing.
– David Richerby
21 hours ago
1
@DavidRicherby: Seeing how people these days use their phones to type messages to people in the same room, it wouldn't surprise me! But even in speech, you can hint at hyphenation in your rhythm and timing. (In ‘fourth-last’, the ‘last’ would follow more quickly and with less emphasis than in ‘fourth last’.) After all, punctuation developed as a way of capturing the pauses, emphases, &c of spoken language, and only more recently acquired semantic significance.
– gidds
21 hours ago
3
3
I was just about to say the same - to completely avoid ambiguity, 'fourth to last time'
– Smock
yesterday
I was just about to say the same - to completely avoid ambiguity, 'fourth to last time'
– Smock
yesterday
3
3
That's where a hyphen would remove the ambiguity: ‘the fourth-last time’ clearly means there will be three more. — Hyphens seem to be out of fashion, but I think they're jolly handy and deserve to be used more! (And if everyone used them, then ‘the fourth last time’ would clearly mean that it follows three other last times.)
– gidds
22 hours ago
That's where a hyphen would remove the ambiguity: ‘the fourth-last time’ clearly means there will be three more. — Hyphens seem to be out of fashion, but I think they're jolly handy and deserve to be used more! (And if everyone used them, then ‘the fourth last time’ would clearly mean that it follows three other last times.)
– gidds
22 hours ago
1
1
@gidds A hyphen does indeed disambiguate, but I doubt the asker is submitting jokes to their room-mate in writing.
– David Richerby
21 hours ago
@gidds A hyphen does indeed disambiguate, but I doubt the asker is submitting jokes to their room-mate in writing.
– David Richerby
21 hours ago
1
1
@DavidRicherby: Seeing how people these days use their phones to type messages to people in the same room, it wouldn't surprise me! But even in speech, you can hint at hyphenation in your rhythm and timing. (In ‘fourth-last’, the ‘last’ would follow more quickly and with less emphasis than in ‘fourth last’.) After all, punctuation developed as a way of capturing the pauses, emphases, &c of spoken language, and only more recently acquired semantic significance.
– gidds
21 hours ago
@DavidRicherby: Seeing how people these days use their phones to type messages to people in the same room, it wouldn't surprise me! But even in speech, you can hint at hyphenation in your rhythm and timing. (In ‘fourth-last’, the ‘last’ would follow more quickly and with less emphasis than in ‘fourth last’.) After all, punctuation developed as a way of capturing the pauses, emphases, &c of spoken language, and only more recently acquired semantic significance.
– gidds
21 hours ago
add a comment |
Yes, if after saying this, you will, or are planning to, do the same thing 3 more times, then you can definitely say, "Sorry, this was like the 4th last time I do this", or more like "4th last time I plan to do this."
I see nothing wrong with the use of "4th last time" here.
answered yesterday
Bella SwanBella Swan
82710
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add a comment |
Yes, if after saying this, you will, or are planning to, do the same thing 3 more times, then you can definitely say, "Sorry, this was like the 4th last time I do this", or more like "4th last time I plan to do this."
I see nothing wrong with the use of "4th last time" here.
answered yesterday
Bella SwanBella Swan
82710
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Bella Swan is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
add a comment |
Yes, if after saying this, you will, or are planning to, do the same thing 3 more times, then you can definitely say, "Sorry, this was like the 4th last time I do this", or more like "4th last time I plan to do this."
I see nothing wrong with the use of "4th last time" here.
answered yesterday
Bella SwanBella Swan
82710
New contributor
Bella Swan is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
Yes, if after saying this, you will, or are planning to, do the same thing 3 more times, then you can definitely say, "Sorry, this was like the 4th last time I do this", or more like "4th last time I plan to do this."
I see nothing wrong with the use of "4th last time" here.
answered yesterday
Bella SwanBella Swan
82710
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answered yesterday
Bella SwanBella Swan
82710
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answered yesterday
Bella SwanBella Swan
82710
answered yesterday
Bella SwanBella Swan
82710
82710
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add a comment |
add a comment |
I read the statement "this is like the 4th last time I do this." to mean you have stated "this is the last time I do this" three times already.
Unless you have said this three times, then I would say you are not using the word "4th" correctly in this manner.
If you are trying to say "I am only doing this three more times", then you could say the phrase "sorry, I have to do this three more times."
answered yesterday
medicine_manmedicine_man
1885
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medicine_man is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
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4
Wrong. "Fourth last" (or "Nth last") is as common as second-last or third-last. It's completely obvious that "fourth-last" has the same meaning as second-last, third-last, etc.
– Fattie
yesterday
4
although "this is like the 4th 'last time' I do this" would mean it has already been the 'last time' 3 times already
– Smock
yesterday
add a comment |
I read the statement "this is like the 4th last time I do this." to mean you have stated "this is the last time I do this" three times already.
Unless you have said this three times, then I would say you are not using the word "4th" correctly in this manner.
If you are trying to say "I am only doing this three more times", then you could say the phrase "sorry, I have to do this three more times."
answered yesterday
medicine_manmedicine_man
1885
New contributor
medicine_man is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
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4
Wrong. "Fourth last" (or "Nth last") is as common as second-last or third-last. It's completely obvious that "fourth-last" has the same meaning as second-last, third-last, etc.
– Fattie
yesterday
4
although "this is like the 4th 'last time' I do this" would mean it has already been the 'last time' 3 times already
– Smock
yesterday
add a comment |
I read the statement "this is like the 4th last time I do this." to mean you have stated "this is the last time I do this" three times already.
Unless you have said this three times, then I would say you are not using the word "4th" correctly in this manner.
If you are trying to say "I am only doing this three more times", then you could say the phrase "sorry, I have to do this three more times."
answered yesterday
medicine_manmedicine_man
1885
New contributor
medicine_man is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
I read the statement "this is like the 4th last time I do this." to mean you have stated "this is the last time I do this" three times already.
Unless you have said this three times, then I would say you are not using the word "4th" correctly in this manner.
If you are trying to say "I am only doing this three more times", then you could say the phrase "sorry, I have to do this three more times."
answered yesterday
medicine_manmedicine_man
1885
New contributor
medicine_man is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
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answered yesterday
medicine_manmedicine_man
1885
New contributor
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answered yesterday
medicine_manmedicine_man
1885
answered yesterday
medicine_manmedicine_man
1885
1885
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New contributor
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4
Wrong. "Fourth last" (or "Nth last") is as common as second-last or third-last. It's completely obvious that "fourth-last" has the same meaning as second-last, third-last, etc.
– Fattie
yesterday
4
although "this is like the 4th 'last time' I do this" would mean it has already been the 'last time' 3 times already
– Smock
yesterday
add a comment |
4
Wrong. "Fourth last" (or "Nth last") is as common as second-last or third-last. It's completely obvious that "fourth-last" has the same meaning as second-last, third-last, etc.
– Fattie
yesterday
4
although "this is like the 4th 'last time' I do this" would mean it has already been the 'last time' 3 times already
– Smock
yesterday
4
4
Wrong. "Fourth last" (or "Nth last") is as common as second-last or third-last. It's completely obvious that "fourth-last" has the same meaning as second-last, third-last, etc.
– Fattie
yesterday
Wrong. "Fourth last" (or "Nth last") is as common as second-last or third-last. It's completely obvious that "fourth-last" has the same meaning as second-last, third-last, etc.
– Fattie
yesterday
4
4
although "this is like the 4th 'last time' I do this" would mean it has already been the 'last time' 3 times already
– Smock
yesterday
although "this is like the 4th 'last time' I do this" would mean it has already been the 'last time' 3 times already
– Smock
yesterday
add a comment |
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2
If you wanted to be obtusely verbose about it, you could say "this is my preantepenultimate move." :-)
– Hellion
23 hours ago
2
Expect a response along the lines of “my days of not taking you seriously are certainly coming to a middle”.
– Roman Odaisky
21 hours ago