till

I noun

she counted the money in the till

Syn:

cash register, cash drawer(s), cashbox, strongbox; checkout

II verb

he went back to tilling the land

Syn:

cultivate, work, farm, plow, dig, hoe, turn over, prepare

III preposition & conjunction

1)

he'll be in London till July

Syn:

until, to, up to, through (to), up until, as late as

2)

we didn't know about this till yesterday

Syn:

before, prior to, previous to, up to, up until, earlier than

••

till, until

Till is, like until, a bona fide preposition and conjunction. Though less formal than until, till is neither colloquial nor substandard. As Anthony Burgess put it, "In nonpoetic English we use ‘till’ and ‘until’ indifferently." (A Mouthful of Air; 1992.) It's especially common in British English — e.g.:

• "After the First World War, Hatay, named by Attaturk after the Hittites, fell into the hands of the French, who did not return it till 1939." (Independent [UK]; Apr. 1, 1995.)

• "He works from dawn till dusk, six days a week." (Daily Telegraph [UK]; Mar. 31, 1997.)

And it still occurs in American English — e.g.: "In medium skillet, sauté the garlic till golden. Add onion, wait till brown." (Palm Beach Post; Mar. 23, 1995.)

But the myth of the word's low standing persists. Some writers and editors mistakenly think that till deserves a bracketed sic — e.g.: " ‘Trading in cotton futures was not practiced till [sic] after the close of the Civil War, spot cotton being quoted like other stocks in cents, halves, quarters, etc.’ " (School Science and Mathematics; Apr. 1, 1997 [in which the sic appeared in the original source being quoted].)

If a form deserves a sic, it's the incorrect 'til. Worse yet is 'till, which is abominable — e.g.: "A month or two remain 'till [read till] you grab your dancing shoes, plus a crew of pals or that special date." (Denver Post; Mar. 21, 1997.) — BG