Till tomorrow, then

[DearPrudence]

Hello English-speaking forer@s

I don't even know how to ask that question.
In a film (Pride & Prejudice - 1995), while leaving, one of the characters say "Till tomorrow, then". I understand it means "See you tomorrow" but I wonder if it's still used nowadays. The fact is that I had an English friend who apparently used "till" because in French he translated it literally. And I've never managed to know if it was correct, ...

Sorry for that stupid question, I've always been curious
Thanks

 

[sloopjc]

Till \Till\, prep. To; unto; up to; as far as; until; -- now used only in
respect to time, but formerly, also, of place, degree, etc.,
and still so used in Scotland and in parts of England and
Ireland; as, I worked till four o'clock; I will wait till
next week.
[1913 Webster]

{Till now}, to the present time.

{Till then}, to that time.
[1913 Webster]
[1913 Webster]

-- From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48


I can't really comment further, suffice to say that till is a bygone expression.

 

[DearPrudence]

I can't really comment further, suffice to say that till is a bygone expression.

So nowadays, would you really use "Until tomorrow/Monday/..." (to mean "see you tomorrow/on Monday")?

 

[nichec]

Yes, I do.
Sometimes, I even say: 'till then (meaning I'll see you at the time we've agreed)
'till is also often used in songs

 

[sloopjc]

So nowadays, would you really use "Until tomorrow/Monday/..." (to mean "see you tomorrow/on Monday")?

That is why it is a bygone expression. We don't usually say "until /till tomorrow" to mean "see you tomorrow" (unlike Spanish) We say, see you tomorrow.

 

[Loob]

Hi DearPrudence

My first reaction was that I don't say 'Till tomorrow'; but on reflection I think that I might use it in situations where "See you tomorrow" could sound too informal. I think it would imply that there was a formal arrangement to meet or to report back in some way; whereas "see you" could be used where there was simply an expectation that the speaker and the addressee would bump into each other.

What an intriguing question!

Loob

 

[liliput]

I can't really comment further, suffice to say that till is a bygone expression.

I don't agree, I think people frequently say till, although they may believe that they're abbreviating "until" to "'til".
"I'm working till 4"
"I won't be able to see you till next week"
I do agree that "Till tomorrow, then" has been almost entirely superceded by "See you tomorrow"

 

[sloopjc]

I don't agree, I think people frequently say till, although they may believe that they're abbreviating "until" to "'til".
"I'm working till 4"
"I won't be able to see you till next week"
I do agree that "Till tomorrow, then" has been almost entirely superceded by "See you tomorrow"

liliput, see my first post in this thread. In particular, the dictionary quote that says:

"-- now used only in
respect to time, but formerly, also, of place, degree, etc.,
and still so used in Scotland and in parts of England and
Ireland; as, I worked till four o'clock; I will wait till
next week."

 

[liliput]

liliput, see my first post in this thread. In particular, the dictionary quote that says:

"-- now used only in
respect to time, but formerly, also, of place, degree, etc.,
and still so used in Scotland and in parts of England and
Ireland; as, I worked till four o'clock; I will wait till
next week."

Yes. I note the part that says "now used..in respect to time".
Your dictionary quote implies that the use of "till" with respect to place or degree is antiquated (although apparently still used in parts of the UK) but not the use with respect to time.
I can assure you from personal experience that "till" is still widely used in respect to time.

 

[sloopjc]

Yes. I note the part that says "now used..in respect to time".
Your dictionary quote implies that the use of "till" with respect to place or degree is antiquated (although apparently still used in parts of the UK) but not the use with respect to time.
I can assure you from personal experience that "till" is still widely used in respect to time.

I quoted the use with respect to time, to make the point that this IS when "till" is still used. Hence I followed by saying, I can't really comment further... because I was not disputing the usage. You've misinterpreted my posts somehow.

I was referring to the former uses, when I said it was an expression from a bygone era:

Till \Till\, conj.
As far as; up to the place or degree that; especially, up to
the time that; that is, to the time specified in the sentence
or clause following; until.
[1913 Webster]

And said unto them, Occupy till I come. --Luke xix.13.
[1913 Webster]

Mediate so long till you make some act of prayer to God. --Jer. Taylor.
[1913 Webster]

There was no outbreak till the regiment arrived.--Macaulay.
[1913 Webster]


-- From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48

 

[liliput]

I quoted the use with respect to time, to make the point that this IS when "till" is still used. Hence I followed by saying, I can't really comment further... because I was not disputing the usage. You've misinterpreted my posts somehow.

I was referring to the former uses, when I said it was an expression from a bygone era:

Till \Till\, conj.
As far as; up to the place or degree that; especially, up to
the time that; that is, to the time specified in the sentence
or clause following; until.
[1913 Webster]

And said unto them, Occupy till I come. --Luke xix.13.
[1913 Webster]

Mediate so long till you make some act of prayer to God. --Jer. Taylor.
[1913 Webster]

There was no outbreak till the regiment arrived.--Macaulay.
[1913 Webster]


-- From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48

The misintrepetation arose because you said "till is a bygone expression" not "till, referring to anything but time, is a bygone expression".
Since the quote in the original post refers to time anyway your rather confusing comments were wide open to misinterpretation.

 

[sloopjc]

The misintrepetation arose because you said "till is a bygone expression" not "till, referring to anything but time, is a bygone expression".
Since the quote in the original post refers to time anyway your rather confusing comments were wide open to misinterpretation.

Well just for you liliput,

"I can't really comment further, suffice to say that till is a bygone expression, when referring to anything but time."

(but then I did, by quoting it's usage)

 

[DearPrudence]

Thank you everyone

Actually my question was not intended to arise a debate between "till/until/'til" but was really on this very expression which I found is weird.
I do understand things like:
"I work until 4 o' clock"
"I will work until next week"

but I don't understand how "till" can begin a sentence, stands on its own with no verb & I wonder if something is implied

 

[nichec]

I think it's more like a sentence that you use so often that you end up omitting lots of words when you are using it.
"'Till tomorrow, then"-----" (I won't be seeing you) until tomorrow then"

To me, it's a lot like when Parisians say "suis la" instead of "je suis la"

Thank you everyone

Actually my question was not intended to arise a debate between "till/until/'til" but was really on this very expression which I found is weird.
I do understand things like:
"I work until 4 o' clock"
"I will work until next week"

but I don't understand how "till" can begin a sentence, stands on its own with no verb & I wonder if something is implied

 

[panjandrum]

Till is current and routinely used in my part of the world.
It would rarely be written, and not in any formal context.

I'm quite sure that even in this till-using part of the world no one says "Till tomorrow, then."
Even in my context, the title of this thread oozes archaism and nostalgia.
Is something implied by this usage? I don't know for sure, but it carries a sense of fatefulness, of unusual expectation - as if we both know that tomorrow is a momentous day.

 

[Packard]

Yes, I do.
Sometimes, I even say: 'till then (meaning I'll see you at the time we've agreed)
'till is also often used in songs

I think, that if you use the apostrophe, then you need to write 'til, and not 'till.

My thinking is that the apostrophe makes it a contraction of "until" and not of "untill".

I have no reference for this though; just a gut feeling.

 

[DearPrudence]

I think, that if you use the apostrophe, then you need to write 'til, and not 'till.

I agree (but I'm not a native)

Is something implied by this usage? I don't know for sure, but it carries a sense of fatefulness, of unusual expectation - as if we both know that tomorrow is a momentous day.

Oops, "ommitted" is rather the word I should have used.
So something like "we won't be seeing until ..." like Nihec suggested.

Thanks