later

(Good-bye) until then. and (Good-bye) till then.; (Good-bye) till later.; (Good-bye) until later.

Good-bye until sometime in the future. Sally: See you tomorrow. Good-bye until then. Sue: Sure thing. See you. Mary: See you later. Bob: Until later. The announcer always ended by saying, "Be with us again next week at this time. Good-bye until then."

See also: until

(I'll) catch you later.

Inf. I will talk to you later. Mary: Got to fly. See you around. Sally: Bye. Catch you later. John: I have to go to class now. Bill: Okay, catch you later.

See also: catch

(I'll) try to catch you some other time, and (I'll) try to catch you later.; I'll try to see you later.

Fig. We do not have time to talk now, so I'll try to talk to you or meet with you later. (An expression said when it is inconvenient for one or both parties to meet or converse.) Bill: I need to get your signature on this contract. Sue:I really don't have a second to spare right now. Bill: Okay, I'll try to catch you some other time. Sue: Later this afternoon would be fine. Bill: I'm sorry for the interruptions, Tom. Things are very busy right now. Tom: I'll try to see you later.

See also: catch, other, some, time, try

Catch me later, and Catch me some other time.

Please try to talk to me later. Bill (angry): Tom, look at this phone bill! Tom: Catch me later. "Catch me some other time," hollered Mr. Franklin over his shoulder. "I've got to go to the airport."

See also: catch

Could we continue this later? and Can we continue this later?

Could we go on with this conversation at a later time? As Mary and John were discussing something private, Bob entered the room. "Could we continue this later?" whispered John. "Yes, of course," answered Mary.

See also: continue, could, this

I'll call back later.

a standard phrase indicating that a telephone caller will call again at a later time. Sally: Is Bill there? Mary (speaking into the telephone): Sorry, he's not here right now. Sally: I'll call back later. John (speaking into the telephone): Hello. Is Fred there? Jane: No. Can I take a message? John: No, thanks. I'll call back later.

See also: back, call

I'll see you later. and (See you) later.

Good-bye until I see you again. John: Good-bye, Sally. I'll see you later. Sally: Until later, then. Bob: Time to go. Later. Mary: Later.

See also: see

Perhaps a little later.

Not now, but possibly later. Waiter: Would you like your coffee now? Bob: Perhaps a little later. Waiter: All right. Sally: Hey, Bill, how about a swim? Bob: Sounds good, but not now. Perhaps a little later. Sally: Okay. See you later.

See also: little

See you later, alligator, and Later, alligator.

Inf. Good-bye. (Sometimes the reply is After while(, crocodile.)) Bob: See you later, alligator. Jane: After while, crocodile. Bob: Bye, Tom. Tom: See you later, alligator. Bob: Later.

See also: see

Shoot first, ask questions later.

Prov. Assume that everyone you encounter is hostile to you.; Take action, even though you do not know enough to be sure if it is the right action. If the foreman saw that one of the workers was working slowly, he didn't stop to find out if the worker was sick or unhappy; he just fired him. He believed in shooting first and asking questions later.

See also: ask, question, shoot

sooner or later

eventually; in the short term or in the long term. He'll have to pay the bill sooner or later. she'll get what she deserves sooner or later.

See also: sooner

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catch you later (spoken)

goodbye I just called to say hi and hopefully we'll talk tomorrow - catch you later.

Usage notes: used at the end of a conversation or message

See also: catch

sooner or later

at some time in the future Don't worry, sooner or later the cat will come home.

See also: sooner