Is 'Single Sitting' a proper phrase?
Being an Indian, I don't like the way we Indians use the English. Of course I also make mistakes, but I will try to learn from time to time.
I see and hear some phrases like, Please do the needful, Years back etc which are absolute blunders, I was wondering if Single Sitting is also Indian made ;)?
(Actually I am pretty sure it is Indian made :D ) Generally we hear this phrase as in http://goo.gl/y3gl06.
By Single Sitting we Indians mean the job attached to this phrase can be done in single visit.
Outside of India, single sitting is and was certainly used, as attested in the comments, but it will nowadays usually refer to a meal.
The (extended) meaning of in the time frame of a single occurrence may be typical Indian usage currently, but I would certainly not qualify such usage as a “blunder”, let alone an “absolute” one.
It is no more a blunder than an American calling a pharmacy a drug store!
Single sitting (in InE) is commonly used in context of -single sitting treatment-situations:
- Hair replacement procedures
- Root canal Tx
- Cataract operation
- etc.
It's probably an adoption from the idiom "at/in one sitting".
at/in one sitting: If you do something at one sitting, you do it during one period of time without stopping. - I read the whole book in one sitting. (TFD)
Some common InE phrases that you may come accross are:
- Let us discuss about politics
- What is your good name?
- Let’s order for a pizza
- I am not at home, I’m out of station
- He returned it back to me
- I am here only
- etc.