Hi folks, I'm playing and singing the song 'Time' from the album The Dark Side of The Moon' by Pink Floyd. There's a sentence which goes 'fritter and waste the hours in an offhand way.' When I look up

Oscar

Hi folks, I'm playing and singing the song 'Time' from the album The Dark Side of The Moon' by Pink Floyd. There's a sentence which goes 'fritter and waste the hours in an offhand way.' When I look up 'fritter' all the dictionaries says, for example: vtr (time: waste, spend idly) Don't fritter your precious time; do something productive. Are they actually synonyms and it's a matter of writing lyrics or is there a difference in meaning? Thanks!! 😅

Mar 15, 2023 9:15 AM

Answers · 11

Hi Oscar! Great song! Fritter away is very British, and possibly a little outdated, best suited to lyrics, but it's also comical. Fritter all your money away, stop frittering your time away - excellent creative use of language for informal contexts or for emphatic use. Does that answer your question? Thanks Tutor Zowee

March 15, 2023

‘Waste’ is much more general of a word. Don’t waste gas. Take the bus. (Not ‘fritter’) ‘Fritter’ suggests losing something little by little. Instead of doing something significant with your time, you are doing a lot of little insignificant things. I’d probably never use ‘fritter’ but to my ear it has some British charm.

March 15, 2023

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