Random 60: Can’t wait. on Viddler.
Wait, are you saying that you can not wait? Or, are you saying that you’d rather not wait? See, there’s a difference. But – even though I don’t like the phrase “I can’t wait” I don’t see any alternative that won’t peg you as being a geek or nerd.
It is one of those odd sayings that, it seems, everyone uses even though it is technically incorrect. Sure, it is sarcasm at its best – but it doesn’t make sense at all to say “I can’t wait to eat lunch.”. Well, yes, you can. And you know what? You probably will.
I know I know, I’m being overly analytical. It is my job as a dork. But, since I can’t come up with any suggestions to replace the phrase – I suppose I’ll just have to live with it. But, I can’t wait until someone comes up with something better.
I think in most instances people use ‘Can’t Wait’, they’re using it as a shortened form of “I am very excited, and were it possible, I’d get in a time machine to the future right now!”
This form is also used as sarcasm, where the phrase is “I can’t wait”, but based on their tone and what you know about them, they’re saying, “I could wait a thousand years and still not want to see that movie”.
There are some cases where I use ‘can’t wait’ for what it really means. For example, if I’m sitting behind a person driving 25 in a 65 zone, and I’m late for work, I say to myself, I can’t wait for this person to speed up, and I pass on the left.
As to a replacement, I’ve tried to use ‘excited’ together with how much I’m actually anticipating the future, or ‘looking forward to’.
Daniel pretty much covers what I initially wanted to add, and then some. If you say you can’t wait, and then you don’t wait, it rings perfectly true, but in most cases, the use is quite idiomatic.