Are we still on for today?

Question

What does the following sentence mean? In particular, what does "on" stand for?Are we still on for today?Thank you

MountainHiker · Accepted Answer

Are we still on for today?

As a native speaker, I know what it means though I am not sure how to explain it in grammatical terms. (Please see the addendum below where I provide an explanation.)

The question is saying is our meeting or activity still going forward? In other words, has there been a cancelation?

For example, Jim and Karen had planned a tennis game for 3:00 p.m. today. At 10:00 a.m. today, Jim asks Karen, "Are will still on for today?"

If nothing has changed, Karen will reply yes. If something has come up (a reason to cancel), Karen will reply no and provide a reason. For example, she might reply, "No, unfortunately, I have a personal issue that I need to resolve."

Here are some similar expressions:

Is our meeting still on today? (Is it still planned?)

Has our meeting been called off? (Has it been canceled?)

Even though we had a big fight yesterday, our wedding plans are still on.

My fiancé called off our wedding. She doesn't love me anymore after our big fight yesterday.

Addendum:

If you go to Cambridge Dictionary, you'll find that still is an adverb meaning continuing to happen or continuing to be done.

One example that Cambridge Dictionary uses is the following:

Is the party still on for tomorrow?

Then if we use Cambridge Dictionary for on, we learn that it is a preposition for time: used to show when something happens.

Here are some examples:

Hair salons don't usually open on Sundays.
What are you doing on Friday?
My birthday's on 30 May.
She was dead on arrival (= dead when she arrived) at the hospital.

So to your specific question, on is a preposition for time.

Cambridge Dictionary lists call off something as a phrasal verb with the meaning "to decide that a planned event will not happen".

Are we still on for today?

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