AIBU to ask what you’d interpret by the phrase “Close of Play”

[CyanSnake]

Hello all.

WIBU to ask you to help settle a light hearted debate I had with a colleague over lunch today?

I’d sent an email out asking for a task to be completed “by close of play Friday”. Now what I meant by this, was that I’m going to work on the project over the weekend; so I need other staff to do their part before 5pm on Friday.

If I knew I wasn’t going to look at it until Monday I’d have said “The deadline is first thing Monday” or “Can I have it by 9am Monday.”

Now my colleague said that she would interpret the phrase “by close of play Friday” to mean “I want to work on it first thing Monday” and that if I directly set a deadline of Monday morning it sounds like I’m directing staff to work over the weekend.

I asked what she would do if she needed something to work on over the weekend and she said she’d ask for it by Friday lunch and chase over the afternoon if it wasn’t done.

So how would you take the phrase?

YANBU - “Close of play Friday” means “By end of business hours on Friday”

YABU - “Close of play Friday” means “On my desk before I start work on Monday”

We say COB on x day and that always means have it completed before you leave your desk on that day! I can’t see how that’s confusing 😂

@MoltenLasagne

Depends on the office though, I work with tech people so frequently COP means to be completed before you log off which at times has meant they send work at 4am.

I'm global professional services and would say that same. But I'm often working funny hours as I'm trying to speak to people in odd places.

Close of play in England usually means 6pm. However the umpire can extend to 7pm, or even 7:30pm, if play has been slow or time has been lost earlier in the day due to bad weather. Close of play can also be extended if there if a likelihood that the innings will end in the next 30 minutes. Close of play can also be earlier due to weather conditions, usually rain or bad light.

Thanks for your responses everyone!

Sorry for not keeping up with the thread, I ended up falling asleep quite early last night

End of the working day (5pmish) on Friday. Not unambiguous at all. Your colleague is wrong.

Your colleague is wrong but for me cop means end of my day - whenever that is, but always later than 5pm - and if people wanted a specific time on a particular day they'd need to say.

I would take it to mean to be done by the end of office hours on Friday. I wouldn't think it meant you wanted to work on it over the weekend unless you said that though. If I was struggling with time I would try to get ahead on Thursday night if I could or talk to you about it.

It's obviously 5pm, but I actually agree with your colleague slightly, in that I work a slightly adjusted eight hour day of 7-3 (7.30 - 3) so I never use 'close of play' as it usually means anything important comes to me after I've finished for the day. So I would do as colleague said and say lunchtime, giving me room to chase if needed.

@Rhubarbcrumblerules

End of working day Friday, but I might have added 'so I can work on it over the weekend '

This

The sender of the request is z poor communicator and should state clearly when and what time the deadline is eg fri 1/1/11 @ 17.00

Anything else is ambiguous and they can't complain if people have a different interpretation of the (little used) phrase or don't understand what they mean.

Its a business email be as precise & clear as possible.

Most people in my department work over the weekend and in the evening. The general interpretation of Friday deadlines is that they really mean by 9am on Monday. If someone wants something passed to them to work on over the weekend they would explain that. We’re all behind with multiple things most of the time but if it’s explained why a particular deadline is vital things get rearranged to meet that timeline. Mumsnet makes me realise how weird my workplace is when people talk about expecting lunch breaks and sticking to set hours .

@Chemenger

Most people in my department work over the weekend and in the evening. The general interpretation of Friday deadlines is that they really mean by 9am on Monday. If someone wants something passed to them to work on over the weekend they would explain that. We’re all behind with multiple things most of the time but if it’s explained why a particular deadline is vital things get rearranged to meet that timeline. Mumsnet makes me realise how weird my workplace is when people talk about expecting lunch breaks and sticking to set hours .

We are the same - everyone works over the weekend - people frequently get up at 4am to meet close of play deadlines - it's a constant juggling act. If someone wanted to work on something over the weekend they'd make it very clear what their plans were.

It would definitely mean by the end of the working day on Friday.

Yanbu. It clearly means by the end of the working day on friday.

End of business day Friday and I'd take colleague to task for being an arse

Definitely end of the working day Friday, but I would imagine could be stretched til midnight Friday.

However it depends a bit on whether you would normally work on the weekends - in my husbands job it would 100% be because someone was working the weekend, in mine they wouldn’t be looking at it til Monday

It means end of working hours on Friday.

But the sender shouldn't have left room for ambiguity. They should have said 5pm on Friday, and at the very least stressed they were going to work on it over the weekend.

Currently 5% of voters here thing you are wrong. This is why you don't leave room for ambiguity in business emails when it is unnecessary. It would have been just as easy to say "5pm on Friday, I will be working on it over the weekend" as what you did.

End of normal working hours on the Friday. I'd expect the work done by 8pm because lots of people work irregular hours.

clearly it means by end of standard business day on Friday (so if you work in an office that closes at 6pm it's 6pm, if you close 1pm on a Friday it's 1pm)

If I need it done, 5 pm. If I'm delivering it, midnight

Close of play is a pretty well-known saying, particularly in a business context. Has your colleague been hiding under a rock, or are they just argumentative for fun?

@Brefugee

End of business day Friday and I'd take colleague to task for being an arse

Yeah, how dare someone have a different opinion. Hanging's too good for them.

Yeah, how dare someone have a different opinion. Hanging's too good for them.
There's a very specific, well recognised meaning to the phrase; having a "different opinion" just means you're wrong or thick 😑

Why not just say 5pm Friday instead of using wanky jargon?

@StripeyDeckchair

The sender of the request is z poor communicator and should state clearly when and what time the deadline is eg fri 1/1/11 @ 17.00

Anything else is ambiguous and they can't complain if people have a different interpretation of the (little used) phrase or don't understand what they mean.

Its a business email be as precise & clear as possible.

Odd response