1

I read this in a YouTube comment under a video where a man got pulled over by the cops for exceeding the speed limit—

Stay under 10 mph over and you are most likely not going to get pulled over. I stay at 9 over on the highways and if you see a cop just let off the gas and you're for sure good.

Can this structure be used in other contexts as well? For eg,

I'm just 2 over my goal (weight)

I think if it's not 2 over then you're fine (2 days or hours over the deadline)

If these are not correct then could you provide other examples?

1 Answer 1

3

It is casual but possible, and only if a system of units is generally understood, or can be inferred from context.

In motoring, the UK and USA use mph so "10 over" implies 10 mph over. Ireland, Australia (and so on) use kilometres so 10 over would mean 10 km/h over. But the national context allows you to infer the units.

For example if you say "2 over my goal weight" Do you mean two stone? two pounds? 2 kg? But if you said "I just lost 10 pounds, and now I'm just two over my goal" then the unit can be understood from context.

Another example. "We've walked seven miles, only four more to go!"

2
  • In the US at least the weight unit, if not specified, would be understood to be pounds unless there is some strong reason to believe otherwise. Jul 27, 2022 at 18:06
  • 1
    but not in the uk, where body mass is normally expressed in stones (and pounds.)
    – James K
    Jul 27, 2022 at 20:00

You must log in to answer this question.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged .