What does "In any sort of time" mean here?
I saw this sentence in the New Yorker story "Paranoia" by Shirley Jackson:
Much as Mr Beresford disliked the subway, he might still have to take the subway to get home in any sort of time.
What does it mean?
Solution 1:
Quoting again:
Much as Mr Beresford disliked the subway, he might still have to take the subway to get home in any sort of time.
The phrase any sort of time means to imply in any sort of acceptable or reasonable time.
One could say that there is an implied adjective such as “reasonable” or “acceptable” in the phrase, however that’s not the case. There is a difference of finesse in both the meaning and the moods of a phrase like any sort of reasonable time vs. any sort of time.
By omitting a qualifier (adjective) such as “reasonable” or “acceptable” from the phrase, the writer introduces a sense of absoluteness in the statement, which in-turn, triggers a more pronounced contrast with the Mr. Beresford’s dislike for the subway.
More could be said about this... If above does not clarify kindly post a note.
Solution 2:
This is idiomatic and informal; “any sort of time” means “any reasonable amount of time”. I believe it to be primarily a British idiom. It is not well documented in standard references, but you can find actual examples of this idiom with Google searches. More rarely, you can find the same idiom used with resources other than time:
- any sort of time: “He is Mr. Reliable, someone who has never missed any sort of time during the time he has been at Wigan Athletic.”
- any sort of money: “Do you make any sort of money from your music?”