The recent past is a certain timeframe, and I want to describe the same sort of timeframe in the future. It seems like there ought to be a word for this, but I can’t think of it. Any vocab whizzes out there know one?
wonky
September 23, 2012, 6:29pm
3
The near future? Soon? Upcoming?
cmyk
September 23, 2012, 6:34pm
5
From the log line of almost every crappy sci-fi movie:
“In the not-too-distant future…”
‘near’ is probably the closest match. Odd that we have such a specific word for one direction, but not that the other. Thanks everyone.
TATG
September 23, 2012, 6:38pm
7
“Immediately”, “proximately”, “presently”.
As an adverb, “presently” is the best match, IMHO, but it’s more often these days used to me “currently” than “in a short while.”
tapu
September 23, 2012, 7:50pm
9
pulykamell:
As an adverb, “presently” is the best match, IMHO, but it’s more often these days used to me “currently” than “in a short while.”
I hazily recall that the two different meanings are a Br Eng/Am Eng distinction.
Musicat
September 23, 2012, 8:19pm
11
“I’ll be over to your house shortly.”
For some contexts, “soon-to-be” would work.
I’ve never heard that, and the usage note at dictionary.com seems to say both meanings are used in UK and US English.
Cite
The two apparently contradictory meanings of presently, “in a little while, soon” and “at the present time, now,” are both old in the language. In the latter meaning presently dates back to the 15th century. It is currently in standard use in all varieties of speech and writing in both Great Britain and the United States.
Washoe
September 23, 2012, 9:25pm
15
I almost always use the term ‘immediate future’ when attempting to convey the concept opposite to ‘recent past.’
Blkshp
September 23, 2012, 10:39pm
16
How about nigh? (near in space, time or relation)
tapu
September 23, 2012, 11:19pm
17
Glad I hedged.
The “now” meaning has apparently lost currency since the 17th century. Maybe it’s still worth a small sum in the Empire, but is worthless in the US. I’m a US English speaker (fairly Standard Dialect) and to a degree, the usage of the word to mean “now” sounds to my ear, a little, well, archaic.
cmyk
September 24, 2012, 2:09am
18
I like to rhyme in prose and tense
yelimS
September 24, 2012, 1:05pm
19
Oh, do I ever love an opportunity to quote old Kingers !
Servants and other inferior persons have from time immemorial been promising they will follow an order by saying, or shouting from near by, something that means ‘at once’ and then dawdling or delaying indefinitely. Following their progress, or the lack of it, expressions that formerly meant ‘at once’ have come to mean ‘in a little while’. The most famous of these is presently.