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AIBU?

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Original poster

How long is a mo?

57 replies

ClumpingBambooIsALie · 07/02/2022 21:56

Supremely trivial:

This evening, DP made us both a hot drink, sat down, and I joined him on the sofa. He finished the last thirty seconds of the YouTube video he'd been watching, and he said "Right, I'm going to bed in a mo." When I acted surprised, because he'd just made us a hot drink that I'd expect us to take at least ten minutes to drink, he replied, "I said in a mo, not right now!" It's context-dependent, obviously, but to me, "in a mo" usually means "extremely shortly", like maybe less than a minute or two. To him it seems to imply a longer period of time, which I'd probably describe as "soon" or "in a little while" rather than "in a mo".

YABU: Of course "I'm going to bed in a mo" means "I'm going to bed in a quarter of an hour or so when I've finished my drink"
YANBU: Agreed, "I'm going to bed in a mo" means I'm probably going to get up from the sofa in less than a couple of minutes.

OP posts:
ToykotoLosAngeles · 07/02/2022 21:58

I know it's literally a shortening of "a moment", but to me in this context it's just another "in a bit". So like 10 minutes.

longwayoff · 07/02/2022 21:59

In a moment. I.e. a minute. The next thing you do.

CharlotteFlax · 07/02/2022 21:59

Yanbu, he should've said "I'm going to bed in a bit"

Honeyroar · 07/02/2022 22:02

It’s short for moment, but when I was growing up “in a mo” was often said by someone to just delay a bit, it didn’t mean anything!

Original poster
ClumpingBambooIsALie · 07/02/2022 22:02

@ToykotoLosAngeles

I know it's literally a shortening of "a moment", but to me in this context it's just another "in a bit". So like 10 minutes.
See, to me, "a bit" is definitely longer than "a mo". But probably less than "a while". Grin
OP posts:
mynameiscalypso · 07/02/2022 22:02

I would use it on the same one that I use 'in a sec' so would expect to do whatever it was very soon. YANBU.

Classica · 07/02/2022 22:03

A mo is longer than a jiffy but shorter that a while.

As any fule kno.

AskingQuestionsAllTheTime · 07/02/2022 22:06

And a tick is about the same.

Original poster
ClumpingBambooIsALie · 07/02/2022 22:06

@mynameiscalypso

I would use it on the same one that I use 'in a sec' so would expect to do whatever it was very soon. YANBU.
Yep exactly, you're intending to do the thing so soon that you've only got time to say the first syllable of second/moment Grin
OP posts:
OutlookStalking · 07/02/2022 22:08

In a mo to me would be "not now" . In your case after drinking a cup of tea, or finishing the end of something.

AlphabetStew · 07/02/2022 22:08

It's roughly the equivalent of seven 'mmmbops'

ABCeasyasdohrayme · 07/02/2022 22:10

Sec - anything up to 2 minutes

A minute - anything up to 5 minutes

A mo - anything up to 10 minutes

In a bit - any amount of time between 10 minutes and 24 hours.

Soon - at some point today

Later - at some point this week.

Anoisagusaris · 07/02/2022 22:10

Could be any length of time. Same as ‘now in a minute’. Grin

OneTC · 07/02/2022 22:10

Totally variable

ShadowPuppets · 07/02/2022 22:10

Based on my DH’s version - “I’ll put the bins out in a mo” - I’d assume several hours.

Kite22 · 07/02/2022 22:13

@ToykotoLosAngeles

I know it's literally a shortening of "a moment", but to me in this context it's just another "in a bit". So like 10 minutes.
This.

It is all about context.
So if someone is standing by your desk, waiting to ask a question and you have said 'just a mo' then it means similar to 'just a sec' (you want to finish that sentence, or to save the doc you have been working on, or press send on that e-mail - but you wouldn't keep them standing there more than about 10 seconds.

But, in your scenario, it means "shortly" ie 'It's not worth starting to watch a programme as I'm not going to be here that long'

It is all about context.

FFSFFSFFS · 07/02/2022 22:16

It goes a mo, then a tick, then a bit, then a while.

PiggyPlumPie · 07/02/2022 22:17

I heard about this today! Maybe on the radio...

A moment was an actual measurement of time and there are 40 moments in an hour. So a minute and a half?

DramaAlpaca · 07/02/2022 22:18

To me it means when I've finished what I'm currently doing, so it could be anything from five minutes to half an hour.

ODFOx · 07/02/2022 22:18

You are right. It is approximately 90 seconds .

en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moment_(time)

In a bit is non-specific and entirely dependent on the intent of the speaker to mean anything from 30 minutes to several months.

On my google wander I also found 'in a while' which, to my surprise, means at least 4 months hence, whereas 'in a little while' is 3 months or less, and 'a while back' is at least 8 months ago.

That's my new thing for the day. I can sleep now! Thanks OP

Hankunamatata · 07/02/2022 22:18

If he said that, I would have thought he meant when he finished his drink

AmbushedByCake1 · 07/02/2022 22:20

I'm pretty sure it's the same measurement as a trice.

Original poster
ClumpingBambooIsALie · 07/02/2022 22:21

@ODFOx

You are right. It is approximately 90 seconds .

en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moment_(time)

In a bit is non-specific and entirely dependent on the intent of the speaker to mean anything from 30 minutes to several months.

On my google wander I also found 'in a while' which, to my surprise, means at least 4 months hence, whereas 'in a little while' is 3 months or less, and 'a while back' is at least 8 months ago.

That's my new thing for the day. I can sleep now! Thanks OP

Wow, a moment is an actual thing! I never knew that.
OP posts:
HelloDulling · 07/02/2022 22:23

How long is two tiks?

ODFOx · 07/02/2022 22:23

@AmbushedByCake1

I'm pretty sure it's the same measurement as a trice.
No, a trice is the time it takes to snap your fingers, an instant. God save me from googling colloquial or ancient measurements of time!
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