any time soon
57
3.3
- idiom
:
pronto
- Not that I'll be doing that again any time soon, but...
- unlikely any time soon
- happen any time soon
But sadly, it won't be any time soon.
- But sadly, it won't be any time soon.
- And I'm not expecting the UN to step in at any time soon.
Examples
-
Then she asked him if he was taking a break any time soon, and it turned out he was.
Academic text (2009) -
Don't expect astronomers to retire in droves any time soon.
Academic text (2000) -
Do I get to come to your studio any time soon?"
Fiction book (1999) -
As such, they can hardly be expected to exit the cultural stage any time soon.
Academic text (1997) -
He'll live, but he won't be back with us any time soon.
-
I wish I could, but, uh, I don't think I'll be leaving Silver Lake any time soon.
-
However, the probability of a completion of the integration project any time soon seems almost remote.
Blog text (5) -
Believe me, sunshine, you're not going anywhere any time soon.
-
Cultural bias, a fact of American life, isn't going away any time soon.
Academic text (1992) -
I'm not leaving this flat any time soon.
Synonyms
58
2.1
Something can happen very soon and without warning
1
8.1
Happening fairly soon but not at a set time
How Soon
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'at any time in the near future' is directly derivable from combining 'any' (non-specific) + 'time' (a moment or occasion) + 'soon' (in the near future); a B1 learner who knows these words can infer the phrase's sense. The pattern is a straightforward temporal composition common cross-linguistically (though often used in negative contexts), so the phrase is transparently interpretable from its parts.
Etymology
Any time soon comes from a simple picture: you look at a clock or calendar and see there is not any time that is soon for something to happen. So when people say 'not any time soon', they mean it will not happen in the 'near future'.