Dave's ESL Cafe's Student Discussion Forums

[fw]

I'd like your help, please.

The passage below is part of what I transcribed, listening to a radio program. The commentator has been talking about the phrase �just around the corner.�

There's a similar phrase, "in the offing." But that tends to mean visible, and has very strong visible meaning. "Offing" is the part of the ocean between where ships dock and the farthest point you can see from land. So something that's nearby or coming soon, as long as you can see it, you can say is in the offing.

I hope I have properly transcribed what I think I heard for the last sentence (the red part), but I'm afraid it might not be making sense, grammatically. So what I would like you to do is to punctuate it properly or point out any word(s), if any, that I might have missed. The script of this program is not available.

[asterix]

You correctly understand what it means.

[fw]

Thank you, asterix.

Let me ask you a little bit further to make sure if I understand you correctly.

Do I understand there is not a possibility that it should have been the following?
3. So something that's nearby or coming soon, as long as you can see it, you can say, "is in the offing".

Any comment would be appreciated.

[asterix]

Hi fw,
Originally, it meant the more distant part of the sea in view.
So you could say, "there's a cruise liner in the offing" and you would be able to see it, way out to sea.
As a phrase it means, likely to happen or to appear soon.
e.g. Jim thinks there's a promotion in the offing for him.
Stephen Spielberg has another blockbuster in the offing.
The weather man says there's a typhoon in the offing.

In the last sentence, you don't have to be able to see the typhoon, although the weather man can probably see it on his radar.

[fw]

Hi asterix,

I'm sticking to a trivial matter in punctuations in my transcription, asterix.

What I'm interested in is whether there is a possibility that the transcription should have had a comma (red-colored, below) in:
3. So something that's nearby or coming soon, as long as you can see it, you can say, "is in the offing".

Brief answer is OK: Yes or no?

[asterix]

So, something that's nearby, or coming soon, as long as you can see it, you can say, "is in the offing."
.

You need commas as above.
N.B. The period at the end goes inside the quotation marks.