# Soonest convenience? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [June 25, 2024, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/soonest-convenience/1003329 "2024-06-25T20:29:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![I.Dunno](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9f8e36/32.png) [@I.Dunno](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/I.Dunno)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2024, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/soonest-convenience/1003329/1 "2024-06-25T20:29:03Z")
I guess this is about as miscellaneous as it gets. Today I received an email from my online bank. I won’t name the bank, but if you can read between the lines, I think you’ll Discover who it is. They alerted me to an important new message in the secure message center. And the alert included this: Please review this message at your **soonest** convenience. I actually thought this was a spam or hack attempt because of that construction. Apparently it’s correct grammar but it sure sounds weird to me. I’ve rarely seen soonest used at all, and I’ve never seen it used like that. Normally, “earliest convenience” seems to be the popular construction. Is it just me, or does anyone else think it’s at least clunky? ---
**Author:** ![Ulfreida](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ulfreida/32/8014_2.png) [@Ulfreida](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulfreida)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2024, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/soonest-convenience/1003329/2 "2024-06-25T20:37:39Z")
It’s a little archaic and formal, like signing your name, ‘your most obedient servant’, but it was once perfectly normal in a business letter. Whether it still is, I can’t say. ---
**Author:** ![F.U.Shakespeare](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/aca169/32.png) [@F.U.Shakespeare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/F.U.Shakespeare)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2024, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/soonest-convenience/1003329/3 "2024-06-25T20:41:37Z")
I had a boss who would write things like, “please send me the information soonest”, which I thought sounded odd. Not exactly the same, but close. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2024, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/soonest-convenience/1003329/4 "2024-06-25T20:47:58Z")
Is that maybe English but not 'Murrican? If the folks writing and approving those messages are in e.g. Bangalore, their constructions are likely to be a bit different than we’re used to. ---
**Author:** ![dougrb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/76d3ee/32.png) [@dougrb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dougrb)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2024, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/soonest-convenience/1003329/5 "2024-06-25T21:13:53Z")
> [@I.Dunno](#): > > I actually thought this was a spam or hack attempt because of that construction. I had the same email from Discover yesterday. The (truncated) link on the “View Message” button is ```auto [type or paste code here](//fzttlwrt.r.us-east-1.awstrack.me) ``` ---
**Author:** ![I.Dunno](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9f8e36/32.png) [@I.Dunno](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/I.Dunno)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2024, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/soonest-convenience/1003329/6 "2024-06-25T21:16:12Z")
Ya know, I’m now not so sure it IS correct usage. The “real” online dictionaries say it’s an adverb. So, (if correctly recalling my long ago schooling) it can’t modify a noun. “Convenience” to me is a noun. I can see “The soonest I can get there is Tuesday.” Also, “the soonest possible time” is apparently correct. So modifying a verb and an adjective in those two cases. I’m now thinking that “soonest convenience” was put together by someone not well versed in English, OR maybe AI is rearing its ugly head. So maybe my first inclination was correct, that it’s not proper English usage. ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2024, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/soonest-convenience/1003329/7 "2024-06-25T21:19:14Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > Is that maybe English but not 'Murrican ? The phrase was prevalent enough in US correspondence 20+ years ago. Like mentioned above, it’s just one of those formal phases you only saw in business letters. ---
**Author:** ![I.Dunno](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9f8e36/32.png) [@I.Dunno](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/I.Dunno)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2024, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/soonest-convenience/1003329/8 "2024-06-25T21:19:19Z")
It’s an adverb modifying a verb there, so I think it is correct. It DOES sound a little strange though. ---
**Author:** ![Treppenwitz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treppenwitz/32/3445_2.png) [@Treppenwitz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Treppenwitz)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2024, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/soonest-convenience/1003329/9 "2024-06-25T21:23:33Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > Is that maybe English but not 'Murrican? I’d say it’s still used here in Old England. If I saw that in a sign off I’d think it was a little quaint but not terribly unusual. j ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2024, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/soonest-convenience/1003329/10 "2024-06-25T21:24:55Z")
Do a Google search on “at your soonest convenience”. It’s not a rare phrase nor is it confined to English speakers overseas.