Monongalia mirror. [volume] (Morgantown, Va. [W. Va.]) 1849-1855, 1853-07-16
"TuE OTHER DAY..

When person writes, or speaks of "thc
other day,n what does he meant Was it the
day before ycs,crday' II so, he spoke OF one
day-a particular day-and that could not DO
".ho o'acr day." Did he mean ony day last
week, as Monday, Tuesday, Sc In either
case. i. would no, be "thc other day." but
the sclssamc day designated. Whence OH
rinatcd the cxprcssion' What docs it mcan'
We have frequently used it, but never before
took thought abou, its incongrui!y, or un-
meaningless. We should like TO hear from
Jiurd on tho subicct.-EiOnOngaiid Mirror.
NJ Oihrr was used by the old writer's in tho
gene of either:
cooler he smotc o!Tc the hand, or the arm
or the hcad.-Glouecsier.
"ror il he doc vote well this,
Thu. ouihcr he shall die or
Within c."-Gorcr.
ga man mote ben fool Other yonsc or
oli.''-CaGuesr.
In the phrase, "thc other day." tho definite
The would seem 10 be used TO point out some
particular day; thus con,radisinguishing II
from other days. Such, however, is not Tue
fact. Although, in the expression above quo
ted, The refers to no particular day, las Monday
Tuesday, &C., yc: it has reference to o par
,icular period Of time, 40 distinct from ano'h-
or period, namely, the past and not the future
One would not say, shall sec him the other
day. referring to tho future; or, q saw him
another day. referring to the past
Again, while in the phrase, the o,hcfday''
The is not definite as designating any pnFtleu-
lar day Of the week or month OF the past yet
tits definite as always marking refeHt-heV-
or remote point Of tine. Hence, we often
hear the expression, 1t wasbut the other day
or, Il, was only the other day. meaning very
recently, or within a short period.
The men Of other days, arc men who Hour
islcd 'ong time ngo;' while the men oil Inc
other day, are gone, it is true, but were recent
ly among us.
Du, our critical brother Of the Mirror is
perplcxcd to know the precise day, dosigna-
ted by the phrase, " the other day." We re-
ply, that, though, as above shown, it refers to
no particular day, yet, by conventional usage
the expression marks some recent indefinite
pcriod, and is as essential to conversation and
the EXPRESSION of our thoughts, as they some
times occur to our mind, as arc the indefinite
alycrbs of time, frequently, often, sometimes,
&c. Though the precise ctymO!ogy Of the word
other is unknown, yet tho primary use and
meaning ofthc term is known to have been,
either, as seen in the examples We have given
,bovo from several Of tho old authors and
pu,,ing tho phrase in question to the test OF
philosophy, We shall sec that Other still retains
Tho element Of its original Specification For
example, a speaker comprchonds, or fixes his
mind upon a period Of several consecutive
dnys, on ono Of which a certain occurrence
TOOK place, but not being aware of the precise
DAY, he says Tho other day. meaning some
one of several recent days, but hcing unable
,odefne which, tho nearer may suppose 1t the
one or the other day that 10, the either day
that he chooses.
For further explanation, sec an excellent
li,,Io work, entitled lIurd's Grammatical Cor
rector which is said to be vcryclca' upon this
suhjoe,-BrorswM GIPT.