"Wednesday week"

Question

I know that the English will say "Wednesday week" to mean a week from Wednesday. Is there a name for this sort of construction?

Also, I have a friend from India who will say "today morning". Is this a similar English (as in people from England) idiom? Or is it an Indian-English idiom? Or just an individual idiosyncrasy?

I've never heard either of these phrases before but I suspect the first is done with artistic license and is not normally spoken. The second is also either idiomatic or an individual idiosyncrasy as all people I know would say "this morning". — FrustratedWithFormsDesigner, May 16 '12 at 17:46
It's not artistic license. "Thursday week" appears in "Peter Pan":
“But, my dear madam, it is ten days till thursday week; so that by telling you what's what, we can save you ten days of unhappiness.” “Yes, but at what a cost! — Paul Reiners, May 16 '12 at 17:49
In the UK, 'Wednesday week' is very common. The second one is not common in the UK. — Rory Alsop, Nov 27 '12 at 10:37
Wednesday Week was also the title of two different songs by The Undertones and Elvis Costello. — , Nov 27 '12 at 10:28

score 7 · Accepted Answer · answered May 16 '12 at 17:51

7

"Wednesday week" is normal British English, and you have interpreted the meaning correctly. There's also "fortnight" used in exactly the same way, although possibly more rarely ("Wednesday fortnight" is two weeks from Wednesday).

I'm not aware of a particular name for this idiom.

British English does not use "today morning". It would be "this morning". I've never heard "today morning," so I'd have to guess it was either Indian-English or a personal idiosyncrasy.

answered May 16 '12 at 17:51

Andrew Leach

101,901

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Interesting. "Wednesday week" is fairly common in the southern U.S. I didn't realize that it was used in BE. – Kevin May 16 '12 at 18:01
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I live in the southeastern US and have never heard that expression in my life. Strange. – Charles W May 16 '12 at 19:32
Is it just "Wednesday week"? Can we say "Monday week" as well? – gonnastop May 16 '12 at 20:40
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@gonnastop: Of course. Any day of the week. – Andrew Leach May 16 '12 at 20:42
@gonnastop Just wait till you meet a month of Sundays! :) – tchrist May 16 '12 at 20:43
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In BrE, the paraphrase of "Wednesday week" would be "a week on Wednesday". "A week from Wednesday" does not occur in BrE. And "today morning" is indeed common in Indian English. – Colin Fine May 16 '12 at 23:14

score 5 · Answer 2 · edited May 22 '12 at 17:54

5

I've heard Wednesday week and Wednesday fortnight used, mainly by English people. English speakers in Wales would be more likely to reverse this to 'a week Wednesday' or 'a fortnight Wednesday'. For example 'we will meet again a fortnight Wednesday'.

edited May 22 '12 at 17:54

Hugo

67,535

answered May 22 '12 at 11:41

Alex

105

2

This isn't limited to Wales. In England we'd also say 'a week Wednesday' rather than 'Wednesday week'. – Dan W Feb 15 '18 at 17:55

score 2 · Answer 3 · answered May 22 '12 at 19:10

Wednesday week is common in the South East US as well. It can apply to any day of the week. Monday week is common for the following Monday.

I have several friends from India who will also use the "today's morning". I believe it is an Indian-English idiom.

"Wednesday week"

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