I know this is probably a common topic. For me, I’m not sure if it’s a “trope” or just totally misinformed writing, but it’s how many authors approach alcoholism. Some examples are Girl on the Train and The House Across the Lake, among HUNDREDS. If anyone else here has struggled with alcoholism, you know it’s not just "i woke up after downing an entire bottle of whiskey but was able to shower, down a cup of coffee, and solve a murder. "
I’m really perplexed by writers seemingly not realizing how time works. Like “he went silent for a minute”. A minute is a long freaking time, what the hell are you talking about.
I’m really perplexed by readers seemingly not realizing that a minute has two meanings: (a) sixty seconds, (b) a short moment.
A minute definitely does not mean a short moment.
Ohh that would make sense. But thing is, (some) other languages don’t have such “sayings”, and yet it’s still often translated literally, which just sounds stupid then. So in that case it would be the translators fault, and it should’ve just been translated as a “moment”. This is good to know, I’ve always wondered how they take so long to answer
Indeed many of my fellow translators are not aware of this problem.
Have you never said “give me a minute” to mean “I need a small amount of time?” It isn’t always a literal minute