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I purchased some fungicide. The instructions on the back of the bottle say "Apply at 4–6 weekly intervals."

Does that mean it should be applied 4–6 times a week? Or every 4–6 weeks?

RegDwigнt
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sarahTheButterFly
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1 Answers1

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It means that the fungicide should be applied every 4–6 weeks, not 4–6 times per week. If it meant 4–6 times a week, it would say "Apply 4–6 times per week". The "interval" between applications is 4, 5, or 6 weeks.

RegDwigнt
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  • yeah, that's what I thought too. My friend confused me by saying otherwise. Thanks! – sarahTheButterFly Dec 22 '12 at 11:13
  • '4-6 weekly' would also mean 'monthly' while '4-6 times weekly' would be 'daily'. The whole areas's difficult: http://english.stackexchange.com/q/35404/8019. – Tim Lymington Dec 22 '12 at 12:38
  • That's undoubtedly what it means, but you have to puzzle it out. What it means to say (putting on my White Knight hat or helmet) is "at 4- to 6-week intervals". – StoneyB on hiatus Dec 22 '12 at 15:03
  • @StoneyB: Yes, and this is because almost no one puts a premium on saying what they mean or meaning what they say. Most native speakers and writers of English seem to believe that regardless of what they say, everyone else will eventually figure out what they mean. Clarity is poo-pooed as a frill. No one wants to spend time writing or speaking clearly because it's too much work, so shit English is de rigueur. This is one of the downsides of the politics of descriptivism, which is just another way of saying "Ain't diversity grand? It means everybody can be right and equal". Horse manure. –  Dec 22 '12 at 16:01
  • @BillFranke You blame descriptivism; I blame the educational Establishment, who don't take the trouble to understand what either the linguists or the philologists actually say, which is almost always the same thing. – StoneyB on hiatus Dec 22 '12 at 16:11
  • @StoneyB: I blame the politics of descriptivism. The scientific method requires those who practice it to describe reality, not to fabricate it (as many prescriptivists are wont to do). I also fault the users of the language for being human (lazy). Can't do anything about that, though. I will say that if you or anyone else can honestly claim to understand "what either the linguists or the philologists actually say", that is "awesome". (Well, that's two of the three typical American words in two comments. I forget the third one & I'm too lazy to look it up or I'd use that too.) :-) –  Dec 22 '12 at 16:25