from A to B
English
WOTD – 10 September 2017
Etymology
A diagram of a vector from A to B
Possibly from the common practice of labelling points using letters of the alphabet, and then referring to motion from one point to another as “from A to B”, and so on.[1]
Pronunciation
- (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /fɹəm ˈeɪ tə ˈbiː/
- (General American) IPA(key): /fɹəm ˈeɪ tə ˈbiː/, /fɹəm ˈeɪ ɾə ˈbiː/
Audio (AU) (file)
Prepositional phrase
from A to B
- From one point to the next; from the beginning of a trip to the end.
- 1997, Daniela Bertol; David Foell, “A Few Hypotheses for Reconstructed Architecture”, in Designing Digital Space: An Architect’s Guide to Virtual Reality, New York, N.Y.; Chichester, West Sussex: John Wiley & Sons, →ISBN, page 303:
- While in our actual world we identify architecture with elements related by permanent relations, in virtual worlds space is a constant function of time. For example, if I have to ascend a stair to get from A to B, I will not necessarily have to descend to get back from B to A. Virtual spaces can hold many surprises.
- 1999, Sara Clifford; Anna Herrmann, “Unit Three: Devising the Show”, in Making a Leap – Theatre of Empowerment: A Practical Handbook of Drama and Theatre Work with Young People, London; Philadelphia, Pa.: Jessica Kingsley Publishers, →ISBN, page 133:
- At Leap we have found that, when working with a large group, it is not appropriate to create a traditional play with a story that follows one central character from A to B. Instead, we create a piece of theatre that can employ a large cast, follow several characters' stories in parallel and draw on several styles, especially popular forms.
- 1999, M. James C. Crabbe, “Preface”, in M. James C. Crabbe, editor, From Soul to Self, London; New York, N.Y.: Routledge, →ISBN, page x:
- It is a journey travelled both by individuals and by societies made up of those individuals. It is not, however, a simple journey, a progression from A to B, starting with the soul and ending at the self.
- [2017 February 23, Katie Rife, “The Girl With All The Gifts tries to put a fresh spin on overripe zombie clichés”, in The A.V. Club, archived from the original on 10 September 2017:
- The zombie scenes are reminiscent of what you might see on a show like The Walking Dead, short bursts of extreme violence and gore punctuating expository dialogue scenes where the survivors try to figure out how they’re going to get from point A to point B.]
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Related terms
- from A to Z
Translations
Translations
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References
- See, for example, R. H. (10 December 1681), “The Substance of a Mathematical Discourse, Containing the Description of the Best Form of Horizontal Sayls for a Mill, and the Ground of the Inclined Sayls of Ships, Made before the Royal Society, by R. H.”, in Philosophical Collections, issue 3, London: Printed for Richard Chiswell, printer to the Royal Society, at the Rose and Crown in St Paul's Church-yard, OCLC 222552221, page 63: “Let A B ſignifie the ſtream or current of the Air or Wind, moving from A to B, and let C repreſent the Centre of the Axis or Spindle, […] ”.
Further reading
from A to B (disambiguation) on Wikipedia.Wikipedia - Christine A. Lindberg, editor (2002), “from A to B”, in The Oxford College Dictionary, 2nd edition, New York, N.Y.: Spark Publishing, →ISBN, page 1.
- Lesley Brown, editor-in-chief; William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, editors (2002), “from A to B”, in The Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles, 5th edition, Oxford; New York, N.Y.: Oxford University Press, →ISBN, page 1.