Would you like to give someone a vague indication of timeframe, often as reassurance, to let them know that something is sure or constant during this time? The phrase 'as long as' can be used to compare one time-or-occurence related thing to someone else, though it can easily confuse. This phrase unpacks the meaning and origin of this phrase.
Meaning
The phrase 'as long as' is used as a vague, indicative phrase that sometimes implies a comparison between two things in what is being said.
The saying is a common x-and-y comparison phrase that is used to say that 'as long as [one thing happens], another specific thing will follow'.
For the most common use of the phrase, the things that are being compared is stated outright in what is being said, although for some uses of the phrase it can also be implied instead.
If the meaning of what is being implied or said is obvious to both speakers in conversation, the phrase 'as long as' can appear as a validation phrase on its own that means both are in agreement about the deal or agreement that has just been made.
The phrase relies on mutual understanding, and 'as long as' could mean nothing if one speaker in the conversation is confused about what is referred to.
If the phrase is not understood, it is most common to follow with a question.
The phrase 'as long as' can be used to point out consequence by one speaker, comparing one thing to another much like the common programming IF-statement.
'As long as' is also often use as an agreement or dealmaking phrase to state an ultimatum.
Example Usage
“I told him right then and there that as long as he has his pudding, he would get to eat his meat. We sat there for three hours, but in the end he got a Slim-Jim out of the deal. Poodles and children are like, exactly the same sometimes.”
“As long as you and the kids don't stay out too late, take the car and go joyriding. Drive it up and down to the liquor store with your fake IDs or whatever kids in Texas do these days.”
“As long as you take the kids fishing, then you can go to Vegas with your side-hooker all you want. You could even ask her to marry you, and a big, fat Elvis could do it.”
“As long as you can't stand the heat in the kitchen, you shouldn't turn on the microwave and try to cook something. That's just going to lead to some other kind of disaster.”
Origin
The origin of the phrase 'as long as' is given as somewhere around the 1300s according to most online etymology resources. 'As long as' is a figurative phrase that is likely to have originated from the word 'long', which in itself traces its origin back to as far as the 1000s.
As language evolved, the phrase 'as long as' would fall into common use and spread with the use of popular fiction and writing. There are several of Shakespeare's sonnets that make reference to 'so long as', so the term must have been in vast popular use by the 1600s.
A spike in newspaper and book publication during the 1900s would make the phrase 'as long as' more common as a household saying, possibly with the widesrpead appearance of household instructionals and dictionaries during this time.
'As long as' can be used as a direct length comparison, but is more likely to compare two relative concepts to one another in terms of consequence or likelihood.
Phrases Similar to As Long As
- So long as
Phrases Opposite to As Long As
- N/a
What is the Correct Saying?
- As long as
- So long as
Ways People May Say As Long As Incorrectly
The phrase 'as long as' can be used in the wrong way if the term is meant as figurative, but understood as literal: the term compares situations, often similar to an IF-statement, and does not always mean a measurement comparison of two things.
Acceptable Ways to Phrase As Long As
'As long as' is most commonly use as a reference for two things, similar to an IF-statement (e.g. one event depends on the other happening).