0
Usenet Posted 21 years ago
Usage

"Your order has shipped"

I ordered a few items online last night. The email I received just now says, in its Subject line, "Your order has shipped."

Naturally, my question is: What has my order shipped, and to whom?

Looks like "been" takes too much time to type. (So how about "was" instead of "has"? Not perfect, perhaps, but surely better than "has" alone, don't you think?)

(Has this come up before? And am I wrong in thinking the usage is "off"?)
Maria Conlon
Santa Claus has the right idea: Visit people only once a year. (Victor Borge)
  

Top answer

(snip) [nq:1](Has this come up before? )[/nq] I also think the usage is off, but with 13,000-odd Google hits it's probably here to stay. Even though, for now, the proper version gets twice as many hits, I wouldn't be surprised to see the ratio slowly change over the years to favour the off version.

  • (snip) [nq:1](Has this come up before?
  • )[/nq] I also think the usage is off, but with 13,000-odd Google hits it's probably here to stay.
  • Even though, for now, the proper version gets twice as many hits, I wouldn't be surprised to see the ratio slowly change over the years to favour the off version.
  • g
Free · every Monday

Get the Weekly English Kit 📬

New words, one handy idiom, and a 2-minute quiz — delivered to your inbox to keep your streak alive.

50 Answers
0
(snip)
[nq:1](Has this come up before? And am I wrong in thinking the usage is "off"?)[/nq]
I also think the usage is off, but with 13,000-odd Google hits it's probably here to stay. Even though, for now, the proper version gets twice as many hits, I wouldn't be surprised to see the ratio slowly change over the years to favour the off version.
How about 'to commit to' (a contract, etc.
0
Maria Conlon wrote on 16 Dec 2004:
[nq:1]I ordered a few items online last night. The email I received just now says, in its Subject line, "Your ... alone, don't you think?) (Has this come up before? And am I wrong in thinking the usage is "off"?)[/nq]
The usage is not at all "off". It's common in international trade circles, where orders ship every day. Google may show only 13,000 hits,
0
[nq:1]I ordered a few items online last night. The email I received just now says, in its Subject line, "Your ... alone, don't you think?) (Has this come up before? And am I wrong in thinking the usage is "off"?)[/nq]
I bet many people here will "agree your message", hehe. Another unusual construction from Rightpondia I've noticed, but has been discussed here already.
"Your order has ship
0
[nq:2]I ordered a few items online last night. The email ... And am I wrong in thinking the usage is "off"?)[/nq]
[nq:1]I bet many people here will "agree your message", hehe. Another unusual construction from Rightpondia I've noticed, but has been discussed here already. "Your order has shipped" sounds like the order is a living being and has done it itself. ;-) Larry[/nq]
Like 'the clock
0
"Your order has shipped" sounds like the order is a living being and has done it itself. ;-)
At the end of the trip someone in the house can say "Your package has arrived."
or
"Your package arrived."
Both sound unremarkable.
Richard Maurer To reply, remove half
Sunnyvale, California of a homonym of a synonym for also. (no, don't open it yet)
0
[nq:1]"Your order has shipped" sounds like the order is a living being and has done it itself. ;-) At the end of the trip someone in the house can say "Your package has arrived." or "Your package arrived." Both sound unremarkable.[/nq]
But that's quite different. "To arrive" has been what a thing does, for ages. "To ship" has not been what a thing does. "To ship" is usually what people do to t
0
[nq:1]I ordered a few items online last night. The email I received just now says, in its Subject line, "Your ... type. (So how about "was" instead of "has"? Not perfect, perhaps, but surely better than "has" alone, don't you think?)[/nq]
I see this often and usually I am sufficiently satisfied with the situation that I skip over the usage describing the situation. But then Maria, the passive
0
[nq:1]M-W puts it as the last, and therefore newest, of the intransitive meanings of the verb: intransitive verb 1 : ... 3 : to engage to serve on shipboard 4 : to be sent for delivery [/nq]
Odd that it omits "to send for delivery", which is much more familiar to me than 4.
David
0
[nq:2]M-W puts it as the last, and therefore newest, of ... to be sent for delivery [/nq]
[nq:1]Odd that it omits "to send for delivery", which is much more familiar to me than 4.[/nq]
That would be transitive to ship a thing. I didn't copy the transitive ones.

Best Donna Richoux
0
[nq:2]I ordered a few items online last night. The email ... perhaps, but surely better than "has" alone, don't you think?)[/nq]
[nq:1]I see this often and usually I am sufficiently satisfied with the situation that I skip over the usage describing the situation. But then Maria, the passive is so, well, passive, isn't it?[/nq]
And the ergative is, as this example illustrates, the in-thing.

Related Questions