Time Out?

[BBTV]

I put this here because it is a sports term, but I understand if it gets moved.

During the Rose Bowl, Keith Jackson was annoying the heck out of me by saying that USC had 3 timeS out left. I've always thought that since the actual noun (for lack of a better word) is a "time out" (both words) that the plural would be "time outs".

I just heard someone on ESPN use "times out", and I was wondering what some of our grammar experts had to say on this matter.

[Mac the Knife]

Did someone say "Time?"

Sorry, couldn't resist.

Where's Clemente when you need him?

[winghaz]

According to the dictionary, singular is timeout (or time-out) while plural is timeouts (or time-outs).

And by the way, sports broadcasters aren't the best when it comes to proper English. The classic case, of course, was Dizzy Dean, but it sure didn't hurt him.

[VitaminD]

Good question.

The phrase "time out" (2 words) involves a noun (time) and a preposition (out). Nouns can be pluralized, but I don't believe the same is true of prepositions. Similarly, we use verb-preposition phrases where the verb is conjugated but the preposition remains unchanged: ask out, asks out, asked out, asking out; work on, works on, worked on, working on. And so on.

However, at some point the two-word phrase became accepted as a single hyphenated word, "time-out". As a single entity, it would be a noun, for lack of a better definition. It is a person, place or thing. To pluralize this hyphenated word, the "-s" would go at the end. Thus, "time-outs". Similar hyphenated words are handled the same way: drive-in, drive-ins; add-on, add-ons; do-over, do-overs. (Does-over?)

Then again, there are other hyphenated words and non-hyphenated phrases that go the other way, and sound perfectly normal: father-in-law, fathers-in-law; Surgeon General, Surgeons General; hole-in-one, holes-in-one.

In this case, it comes down to whether you believe that "time" stands alone as a noun being modified by a preposition, or if you consider a "time-out" to be an actual object unto itself.

So it would seem both can be correct. With spoken English, you don't hear a hyphen, so the speaker could use either and be right, I guess. I've heard both. For all I know, there could be regional variation, so Keith Jackson may have learned it differently than some of us did.

Did that help? Did it at least make sense?

[WSU151]

VitaminD is correct.

The best is in baseball, with run(s) batted in (RBI). You'll hear sportcasters say ribbies, or RBIs, but it's incorrect. It's always RBI, no matter if you have one or a thousand.

Another one that is good is offside in football. There are dozens of announcers, fans, and even a couple of refs who say "offsides", but alas, it is incorrect. The official call is "offside".

[OMMF]

Good question.

The phrase "time out" (2 words) involves a noun (time) and a preposition (out). Nouns can be pluralized, but I don't believe the same is true of prepositions. Similarly, we use verb-preposition phrases where the verb is conjugated but the preposition remains unchanged: ask out, asks out, asked out, asking out; work on, works on, worked on, working on. And so on.

However, at some point the two-word phrase became accepted as a single hyphenated word, "time-out". As a single entity, it would be a noun, for lack of a better definition. It is a person, place or thing. To pluralize this hyphenated word, the "-s" would go at the end. Thus, "time-outs". Similar hyphenated words are handled the same way: drive-in, drive-ins; add-on, add-ons; do-over, do-overs. (Does-over?)

Then again, there are other hyphenated words and non-hyphenated phrases that go the other way, and sound perfectly normal: father-in-law, fathers-in-law; Surgeon General, Surgeons General; hole-in-one, holes-in-one.

In this case, it comes down to whether you believe that "time" stands alone as a noun being modified by a preposition, or if you consider a "time-out" to be an actual object unto itself.

So it would seem both can be correct. With spoken English, you don't hear a hyphen, so the speaker could use either and be right, I guess. I've heard both. For all I know, there could be regional variation, so Keith Jackson may have learned it differently than some of us did.

Did that help? Did it at least make sense?

Keith Jackson being a Coug, I'll defer to him.

To add to what VitaminD said, this comes up more than you think. Listen to a news story next time that involves states rights. You should hear attorneys general instead of attorney generals as general is the term modifying what kind of attorneys they are, not the other way around.