At least you are not being asked to provide something by size as in “regular fries”.

happening repeatedly in a fixed pattern, with equal or similar amounts of space or time between one and the next:
a regular heartbeat
working regular hours
Trees were planted at regular intervals along the avenue.

File you’re complicating Osage with Cambridge duct n

Well it might just be on the same day every year.

I think Lewis Carroll has this.
“When I use a word,” Humpty Dumpty said, in rather a scornful tone, “it means just what I choose it to mean—neither more nor less.” “The question is,” said Alice, “whether you can make words mean so many different things.”

Since when is ‘regular’ a synonym of ‘frequent’?

On a Friday afternoon in the school holidays when no-one has any real work to do.

mikewsmith » If I tell you to do something regularly how often would you do it?

No idea, I’d only comply after you specified the timescale and periodicy of whatever you want me to do, ‘cos otherwise I wouldn’t have a clue; once, twice, three times an hour, day, week, month…
This isn’t pedantry, your demand has no specifics to comply with.

This reminds me of the nervous flyer who asked the steward how often Boeings crashed.

“Just the once, Madam.”

Do you often have these discussions, or is it periodical?

As somebody who cannot help but take things literally, I have had the OP’s discussion several times and it irritates me greatly. edlong I fully agree with you. However, I am surprised you have not come across this before – ie regularly, frequently being used to mean frequently.

I was in my regular state of mind earlier – I frequently don’t think straight.

We do a thing at work. We do it once a year. We do it the same time every year. We’ve done it at that time every year since we started doing it. We’ve not missed a year, and we’ve not done it at a different time of year.

Long rant just to let us all know that you failed to use the word “annually”. 💡

Do you often have these discussions, or is it periodical?

That should be ‘periodically’, a ‘periodical’ is a publication that appears at regular times.

pe·ri·od·i·cal (pîr??-?d??-k?l)
adj.
1. Periodic.
2.
a. Published at regular intervals of more than one day.
b. Of or relating to a publication issued at such intervals.
n.
A publication issued at regular intervals of more than one day.

CountZero – Member

mikewsmith » If I tell you to do something regularly how often would you do it?

This isn’t pedantry, your demand has no specifics to comply with.[/quote]
Exactly the point, the op has made an ambiguous statement and expected people to get what he means. Neither word is appropriate unless you know the exact specifics of the subject, hence it’s a bad use of the terms.

Change your wording to ‘regular periodic’.
Or alternatively to ‘annual’.

I suggest anyone who is confused stops googling misinformation and looks up the word in the OED. Yes, the book. 😀

OP is wrong as the word has more than one meaning, one of which is “recurring at short uniform intervals”. (As is the pompous buffoon who doesn’t like “regular fries” 🙂 – perfectly correct use of a word which has multiple meanings).

Thus the frequency of the regularity must be stated (or given context, as mentioned). This is why the word “annual” exists. It’s not rocket surgery. 😆

We do it the same time every year. We’ve done it at that time every year since we started doing it.

This is why the word “annual” exists.

If its happening the same time year every year then its presumably anchored to something in the calendar. You could remove all doubt about frequency by just saying

‘On St Swithins Day’
‘On the first Thursday in October’

I wonder if the ‘event’ that the OP and his colleague are discussing the frequency and regularlty of is the Office Christmas Party 🙂 That should certainly happen more regularly.

The OP should get their colleagues to consider the relative effects of eating roughage and fruit with dysentery.

One keeps you ‘regular’, the other ‘frequent’.

Scatological examples usually stick in people’s minds.

Good god, I can’t believe I just read this thread right to the end 😆

I thought these days regular means small.

Three cheers for BA!!

As is the pompous buffoon who doesn’t like “regular fries” – perfectly correct use

If you’re a septic.
Medium chips would be the British version.

dannyh – Member

The OP should get their colleagues to consider the relative effects of eating roughage and fruit with dysentery.

One keeps you ‘regular’, the other ‘frequent’.

Scatological examples usually stick in people’s minds.

very good. I like it

Medium chips would be the British version.

Medium chips doesn’t exist, no one has ever order medium chips. You get a bag of chips or a big bag of chips.

If you’re a septic.
Medium chips would be the British version.

wrong. Why do you think professional soldiers have been called “regulars” for hundreds of years? Do you really think it’s because of their bowel movements? 🙂

If you don’t have access to an OED, why don’t you get one and educate yourself. 😆

Medium chips doesn’t exist, no one has ever order medium chips. You get a bag of chips or a big bag of chips.

Absolutely, hence my use of the word “would” rather than “is”.

wrong. Why do you think professional soldiers have been called “regulars” for hundreds of years? Do you really think it’s because of their bowel movements?

Do you think it’s because they are medium in size?
(Strawmen do blow over easily old chap 😉 )

If you don’t have access to an OED, why don’t you get one and educate yourself.

I have access to many dictionaries, and the only ones that give examples of “your” usage do so using Americanisms, which was kinda my point. 😉

Bless. Hint: Wikipedia is not a dictionary 😆

http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/regular

Zilog6128

OP is wrong as the word has more than one meaning, one of which is “recurring at short uniform intervals

Sorry zilog you are incorrect, the op is correct. Your quoted meaning here agrees with the OP.

zilog6128 – Member

Bless. Hint: Wikipedia is not a dictionary

Didn’t say it was, so that makes it two strawmen in a row.
Care to make it three, as you obviously have nothing of substance to counter?
Throwing lol smilies about and failing to condescend with words like “bless” does little for your argument, FYI. 😉

I’m going to wager it being half-term…

You appear to be making assumptions about the context in which the OP used the word, assumptions which aren’t justified by anything he’s written. Meanwhile his colleague is incorrectly insisting that he is wrong and that “regular” can’t possibly mean anything other than “frequent” – are you defending his colleague?

The op has an annual event, he chose to call it regular and it’s leading to confusion as people do the kind ow how often it occurs. Hardly assumption is it.

“everyone knows” that that’s what you mean when you say something is done regularly.

The reader’s illiteracy isn’t the fault of the writer.

The reader’s illiteracy isn’t the fault of the writer.

Communication is a two way thing. Being aware that what you say might be misunderstood is quite an important life skill

Are you new here? (-:

More seriously,

I take your point, and you’re right in that it’s good practice to target your audience in the language you use. Using long words can add accuracy but can also make it more impenetrable to understand.

But some jackass saying “well, everyone knows that” as an excuse for misunderstand something after it’s pointed out by the writer that it’s been misunderstood, pff, that’s their own lookout.

People misuse words all the time and “everyone knows” what they mean, it makes me literally incandescent with rage.

The op has an annual event, he chose to call it regular

cite

We do a thing at work. We do it once a year. We do it the same time every year. We’ve done it at that time every year since we started doing it. We’ve not missed a year, and we’ve not done it at a different time of year.

So, I have described this thing we do as being done regularly.
that what you were after aracer.

No, I don’t believe it is!