OUT THERE OVER THERE

I was on a meeting today and temporarily, while I lost concentration, the topic turned to someone flying off to a conference somewhere and doing some work ‘while you’re out there’.

“It might be worth your while, while you’re out there…”

“Well while I’m out there, I thought I might…”

It occurred to me that I had no idea where he was going. I need to listen more. Where is ‘out there’? Why is it not ‘over there’? Where’s that? Are they different? How do I instinctively know that it’s not the Isle of Wight, or Prague, or Scotland?

Funny old British English. I guess ‘over there’ must mean crossing an ocean to a foreign part of the world. You have to fly over the vast expanse of the Atlantic to get to the US. That seems the most likely candidate for where he was off to.

“Out there” seems further still. West Coast? As far as Japan perhaps? Singapore? Thailand? You have to overcome a significant amount of geography to get to those places.

Speaking of Japan, my niece and her fiancé want to go to Tokyo for their honeymoon. I have thoughts about it, but then they also asked me to do a pub quiz at their wedding. That is a sidebar, but an interesting one.

Scotland is clearly “up there” as is Norway, Sweden and anywhere where you might get chased by a polar bear. So with “over there” and “up there” you might get a sense of what’s going on. Clearly we’re all picturing a map in our heads.

And yes, Australia if anything, is “down there” though I think people would be more tempted to say “down under” wouldn’t they?

But “out there” - what’s that dimension? Well. That’s why I think he’s headed for California. I think in some way, there’s a sense that the West is still the land for pioneers and trailblazers, where you’re far out from the modern, leafy cities and civilisation of the East, and of course, the old world. That’s crept into our language.

I don’t mind doing a pub quiz at a wedding. I think it will be a challenge to keep it under control - an exercise in determination, wit, and taking no nonsense. I also think it might do my family good to know I can confidently handle that, so win-win, I guess.

Sometimes on calls I say things like “Raining over here…” to people who live less than a hundred miles away. The only geographical boundary is the vast expanse of the wild Home Counties. So I’m not exactly sure I apply the rules precisely. Perhaps next time I should describe the Isle of Wight as “down under” to see what confusion it causes.

It’s no wonder I was daydreaming.