All the while/Meanwhile/At the same time,

Question

The child was on the stage playing the violin nervously. All the while/Meanwhile/At the same time, his mother was looking at him with an encouraging smile.

Do the bolded phrases fit in the above and convey a similar idea? Thanks.

Avangi · Accepted Answer

Angliholic
The child was on the stage playing the violin nervously. All the while/Meanwhile/At the same time, his mother was looking at him with an encouraging smile.

Do the bolded phrases fit in the above and convey a similar idea? Thanks.

Hi Angliholic,

In my opinion only the first one fits. In my experience, the other two are used to indicate two seemingly independent scenarios whose connection is revealed by other information, either before or afterward. But I'd agree the ideas are similar.

Best wishes, - A.

Angliholic · Answer

Thanks, Avangi.

But I still fail to see the differences between them. Could you illustrate when the other two phrases work while "all the while" doesn't?"

Marius Hancu · Answer

ALL the while - during ALL this time

the other two are weaker in terms of permanency

Arvsworld · Answer

AngliholicThe child was on the stage playing the violin nervously. All the while/Meanwhile/At the same time, his mother was looking at him with an encouraging smile.

Do the bolded phrases fit in the above and convey a similar idea? Thanks.
They are very similar and probably mean the same thing when used in this context, but I think it would sound and read a lot better if you combine your sentences using the word "while."

Angliholic · Answer

Marius HancuALL the while - during ALL this time

the other two are weaker in terms of permanency

Thanks, Marius and Arvsworld.

Could you list a few samples in which only the last two work while the first doesn't?

Marius Hancu · Answer

Try yourself some searches at
http://www.natcorp.ox.ac.uk/

Avangi · Answer

AngliholicThanks, Avangi.

But I still fail to see the differences between them. Could you illustrate when the other two phrases work while "all the while" doesn't?"

Hi Angliholic,

I know I can't do this without going on and on and on, so I'll probably be in trouble.

Technically these would all work, as others have said. But when I tried them in your example I said, "No, I would never use the second and third expressions in this situation, and I don't know anyone who would." So I started trying to pin down the differences in common usage of the phrases - not necessarily differences in the individual words which make them up.

For one thing, the first one implies a second-by-second correspondance between the two things being described (all the while). In your example, they're in the same room and both engrossed in the same performance. When using the other two phrases, the two things being described are contemporary, but not necessariily in touch with each other or of the same duration, or even in the same location.

I'm going to take a nap. Meanwhile, why don't you do the dishes?

You man not spend the whole time I'm napping doing the dishes. On the other hand, I may wake up before you finish. And neither of us is paying any attention to what the other is doing.

We used to have an expression we borrowed from the old cowboy movies: "Meanwhile, back at the ranch . . . . ." - meaning something like, "While we're wasting time trying to decide what to do, life is going on somewhere else." or, "Let's get on with it!" In the movies it was usually said in a "voice over" while the scene changed from what the bad guys were doing to what the good guys were doing.

Sorry, I don't know how else to do this.

Regards, - A.

Angliholic · Answer

Avangi

Hi Angliholic,

I'm going to take a nap. Meanwhile, why don't you do the dishes? This is an excellent example. Now I get it.

You man not spend the whole time I'm napping doing the dishes. On the other hand, I may wake up before you finish. And neither of us is paying any attention to what the other is doing.

We used to have an expression we borrowed from the old cowboy movies: "Meanwhile, back at the ranch . . . . ." - meaning something like, "While we're wasting time trying to decide what to do, life is going on somewhere else." or, "Let's get on with it!" In the movies it was usually said in a "voice over" while the scene changed from what the bad guys were doing to what the good guys were doing.

Sorry, I don't know how else to do this.

Regards, - A.

Thanks, Avangi.

Got it.

By the way, what do "Let's get on with it" and"voice over" mean?

Avangi · Answer

Angliholic
Got it.

By the way, what do "Let's get on with it" and"voice over" mean?

Hi Angliholic,

"Voice over" is largely out of style in the cinema, but it's used a lot in TV commercials. You used to hear a voice giving background information about the plot and the characters - sort of an unseen narrator. You knew the voice didn't belong to any of the characters. Now actors with famous voices, like James Earl Jones, make big bucks doing the voice over's in commercials.

"Let's get on with it!" is often used to express exasperation when a meeting or a plan is bogged down and going nowhere. "Let's get this thing moving!"

Later, - A.

Angliholic · Answer

Avangi

Angliholic
Got it.

By the way, what do "Let's get on with it" and"voice over" mean?

Hi Angliholic,

"Voice over" is largely out of style in the cinema, but it's used a lot in TV commercials. You used to hear a voice giving background information about the plot and the characters - sort of an unseen narrator. You knew the voice didn't belong to any of the characters. Now actors with famous voices, like James Earl Jones, make big bucks doing the voice over's in commercials.

"Let's get on with it!" is often used to express exasperation when a meeting or a plan is bogged down and going nowhere. "Let's get this thing moving!"

Later, - A.

Thanks, Avangi.

I'm learning more and more from you.

By the way, I've run across "exasperation" a few times recently, but I still have problem mastering its true meaning. Since you mentioned it in your post, I'd like to know if it's synonymous with "irritation" or "indignation."

All the while/Meanwhile/At the same time,

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