{"id":8374,"date":"2022-09-11T17:15:15","date_gmt":"2022-09-11T17:15:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/?p=8374"},"modified":"2022-09-11T17:15:15","modified_gmt":"2022-09-11T17:15:15","slug":"in-due-time-in-due-course-meaning","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/in-due-time-in-due-course-meaning\/","title":{"rendered":"In Due Time (In Due Course) \u2013 Meaning, Origin and Usage"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Would you like to give someone a rough indication of the time that it might take to do something (or how long it will take to happen)? The term <strong>'in due time (in due course)' <\/strong>could be the right sentence that applies to what is being said. This post unpacks the meaning and origin of this expression.<\/p>\n<h2>Meaning<\/h2>\n<p>The term <strong>'in due time (in due course)'<\/strong> is used when someone is <u>indicating the estimated time that an action will take to happen (or that an action will take to be performed).<\/u><\/p>\n<p>The expression <u>can be used as an answer to the question of when something will happen.<\/u> (E.g. \u201cIt will happen in due time.\u201d)<\/p>\n<p>The expression <strong>'in due time (in due course)'<\/strong> can also be used <u>as a question when asking someone when something will happen. (E.g. \u201cWill it happen in due time?)<\/u><\/p>\n<p>The term is <u>deliberately <\/u>nonspecific and does not actually indicate when something will happen, or how much actual time will pass before this mentioned action will take place.<\/p>\n<p>Saying that something will happen \u201cin due time\u201d just means that <u>something will happen when it is supposed to<\/u>.<\/p>\n<p>The term \u201cdue time\u201d can also refer to <u>a known time-frame to both subjects, or a deadline that has already been set out and is thus apparent or familiar already.<\/u><\/p>\n<h2>Example Usage<\/h2>\n<p>\u201cI used to ask my parents when we were going to Disneyland, and they just used to say that it was going to happen in due course. Eventually they both died and we never got to see the place, so I just had three kids in my thirties and took them instead.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe editor wanted to know when I was going to deliver the manuscript. I told him it was going to be in due course, and then remembered that the deadline was in a week from now.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cShe asked when I was going to move out and I just said it was going to happen in due course.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf you're going down to the woods today, then make sure you come back to the house in due course. You don't want to run into Slenderman, and I guess he doesn't come out much in the daylight.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2>Origin<\/h2>\n<p>The origin of the terms 'in due time' and 'in due course' can be traced back to the invention of the mechanical (or analog) clock, which is credited to the ingenuity of several inventors in the fourteenth century.<\/p>\n<p>Invention of the clock allowed people to keep track of time in easier, more reliable ways and several expressions that have to do with time and time-frames would appear during this period.<\/p>\n<p>According to Dictionary.com, one of the earliest documented uses of the phrase 'in due time' is dated back to 1387, more or less during the same period at which time-pieces would have become a more common sight.<\/p>\n<p>The alternative expression 'in due course' might have originated with the popularity of racing or betting, which follows a set \u201ccourse\u201d until it is completed.<\/p>\n<h2>Phrases Similar to In Due Time<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>N\/a<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Phrases Opposite to In Due Time<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>N\/a<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>What is the Correct Saying?<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>In due time<\/li>\n<li>In due course<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Ways People May Say In Due Time Incorrectly<\/h2>\n<p>There are several different ways in which the term 'in due time' can be used in the incorrect way, or used in the wrong context.<\/p>\n<p>The term is sometimes written wrong as \u201cin do time\u201d, whereas \u201cdue\u201d is the correct word for the expression.<\/p>\n<h2>Acceptable Ways to Phrase\u00a0 In Due Time<\/h2>\n<p>The term 'in due time (in due course)' is meant to refer to a time that is already familiar to both subjects, such as a deadline that has been set or a time that has been discussed.<\/p>\n<p>The phrase 'in due time (in due course)' can be used as a statement, or expressed as a question.<\/p>\n<p>The term can also be expressed as the opposite, and is then changed to the expression \u201cnot in due time\u201d with the implication that what is being waited for is late.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p class=\"mb-2\">Would you like to give someone a rough indication of the time that it might take to do something (or how long it will take to happen)? The term 'in due time (in due course)' could be the right sentence that applies to what is being said. This post unpacks the meaning and origin of [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8374"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8374"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8374\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8377,"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8374\/revisions\/8377"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8374"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8374"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8374"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}