Timeline for Is there a phrase/word meaning "visit a place for a short period of time"?
Current License: CC BY-SA 4.0
8 events
| when toggle format | what | by | license | comment | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 1, 2021 at 1:03 | comment | added | David Siegel | If I am not mistaken a whistle-stop was originally a place where a train stopped only at need, as to drop a passenger, or to take on fuel or water, but where there was no scheduled stop. Thus any stop at such a place was as brief as possible. From this came the sense of a very brief stop, and from this the adjective senses. | |
| Jan 1, 2021 at 0:30 | comment | added | Judy N. | You're right that it gives the sense of "a brief appearance in a town", but my feeling of the context of this is more a situation where many stops are being made in succession. I don't think a single stop would be "a whistle-stop" (– not that I would ever use it in this sense to begin with) as it gives the impression you are eager to get to the next stop | |
| Jan 1, 2021 at 0:25 | comment | added | Judy N. | "a whistle-stop tour" is an example, not a definition, hence why it's in italics; that is, "whistle-stop" can appear as part of a noun when it modifies another word, such as tour. | |
| Jan 1, 2021 at 0:20 | comment | added | Weather Vane | @JudyN. Collins specifically says "Noun (as modifier): a whistle-stop tour", and "a brief appearance". | |
| Jan 1, 2021 at 0:18 | comment | added | Judy N. | You appear to have linked to the entry for "whistle-stop tour" | |
| Jan 1, 2021 at 0:17 | comment | added | Weather Vane | @JudyN. my source also gives it as a noun, with the usage more clearly in MacMillan | |
| Dec 31, 2020 at 23:40 | comment | added | Judy N. | "whistle-stop" is, as your source indicates, an adjective. So one cannot make "a whistle-stop" | |
| Dec 31, 2020 at 15:01 | history | answered | Weather Vane | CC BY-SA 4.0 |