• Odo@lemmy.world
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      8 days ago

      Till is the correct spelling. It’s a separate word from until (and is actually older). 'Til is way newer and considered informal.

      • idiomaddict@lemmy.world
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        8 days ago

        That’s fair, but I don’t like it as much 🤷

        Though as a quibble, til and ’til are both correct spellings for an abbreviation of until, and till is a separate preposition. All are correct.

        • MinnesotaGoddam@lemmy.world
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          7 days ago

          huh. i always learned till as a verb, like till the ground. is this a regional/dialect thing? because i want to stop editing my autocarrots from till to til.

          • idiomaddict@lemmy.world
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            7 days ago

            No, till is also a verb and a noun for a cash register (that’s why I prefer til: less ambiguity), but as a preposition it’s somewhat archaic outside of a few dialects, afaik

            • MinnesotaGoddam@lemmy.world
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              7 days ago

              also maybe something on a boat i think? i’ve heard “man the till” or “man the tiller” i can’t remember, somewhere. maybe my imagination.

              • idiomaddict@lemmy.world
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                7 days ago

                Oh, yes, good call! I think that’s essentially the same concept as with farming, where you split a channel in the stream of water or in a mound of earth.

                • MinnesotaGoddam@lemmy.world
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                  7 days ago

                  i never thought of it conceptually like that, but that makes a lot of sense for a cash register. you split the customer’s cashflow stream into the store’s. or vice versa

                  anyone else feel like they need to stare at their fingers a while too after learning what @idiomaddict@lemmy.world has been teaching us?

                  • idiomaddict@lemmy.world
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                    7 days ago

                    That’s a really good way of thinking of it, but I can’t take credit for it, splitting money never occurred to me. I do often feel like I need to stare at my fingers when I think about etymology though.

      • Venator@lemmy.nz
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        8 days ago

        The correct spelling if you’re plowing…

        Yeah that works in this context I guess 😅

        • Odo@lemmy.world
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          8 days ago

          No seriously, there’s a definition of till that means the same as “until” but is like a century older. One of the many weird quirks of English.