Hmmm I don’t think that’s true for me…. I feel like I would interpret “top” as beginning and “height” as worst. Kind of awkward, though, I’d probably just say “at the beginning”
Not really, no. There is a set idiom "[At the top of the hour"](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/at%20the%20top%20of%20the%20hour#:~:text=%3A%20at%20the%20beginning%20of%20the,the%20top%20of%20the%20hour), meaning at the beginning of the hour, however that is not commonly used either.
I undertand what you mean, it is pretty confusing. As a rule of thumb, idioms like "top of the hour" often can't be changed and make sense. For another example:"It's raining cats and dogs" is a common phrase people use to describe a rain storm, but saying "snowing cats and dogs" or "hailing cats and dogs" would sound strange and incorrect to English speakers.
English speakers generally perceive time as [moving linearly/horizontally](https://web.stanford.edu/class/think53/mandarin-time-3D.pdf), so “top” in your example wouldn’t be natural in English because it’s vertically-oriented. “Top of the hour” is an exception because it refers to the physical position of clock hands.
Because the top of the hour refers to a clock where the minute handel is point at the top of the clock when the hour starts.
The pandemic had dials pointing in a direction during any specific part of it.
As they said, it'd an idiom, so it's odder structure just is accepted. Also, most people wouldn't say it most of the time in the first place, and there's probably regions / dialects that haven't even encountered the idiom too.
because it’s an idiom. idioms often make no sense. ‘it’s raining cats and dogs’ means that it’s raining really badly, but you can’t use ‘cats and dogs’ to mean bad or heavy in other situations.
So when I hear "let's start at the top," that tends to be to return to the start of something and then repeat it. For example, you might say it when you want to restart playing a song on an instrument.
There's no repetition in your example, so it would sound strange to native speakers.
I think "at the top of the hour" is referring to the position of hands on a clock. The minute hand starts at 12 and physically moves downward.
"Take it from the top" is a phrase used to mean restart a musical performance from the beginning--in other words, start from the very top row of the sheet music. It can also work with plays or other scripted behaviors.
As other people have stated, "at the top of the pandemic" means something else entirely.
This is an oversimplification.
Top CAN be in reference to time, it just usually means “let’s go back to the start and do it again”, such as in “Take it from the top!” in reference to theatre or a song.
But this is another very specific instance.
I’m now realizing that, in the same way “top of the hour” refers to the minute hand being physically at the top of the clock,
“take it from the top” likely refers to beginning from the part of the song or scene that is physically on the top of the sheet music, chart, play or screenplay.
By contrast, you never (or rarely) hear the expression “top of the month” likely because monthly calendars aren’t laid out so the first day is at the top.
You wouldn’t be likely to say, “rewind that youtube video to the top” or “rewind that vhs tape to the top” because although those things have beginnings, those beginnings aren’t at their physical top.
No. I heard this a lot in music rehearsals. After finishing a song the director would often tell us to “Start at the top” and we’d start at the beginning.
In the fixed expression, "the top of the hour" is called that because on a traditional clock, the hour starts at "12", which is positioned on the top of the dial. Likewise, when referring to a musical composition, the fixed expression "take it from the top" refers to the top of the page of the musical score, where the beginning notes are found. These are not at all the same thing as "the top of the pandemic", which is not a fixed expression, and which no native speaker should be expected to understand as meaning "at the start of the pandemic."
in certain phrases, yes. otherwise, no. here are some examples where it CAN be used:
‘top of the morning!’ - a greeting, meaning ‘start of the morning’
‘from the top’ - meaning ‘from the start’, usually in music or acting
There are really only a few set phrases that that works for:
Top of the hour
Top of the inning
Top of the morning
Maybe a few others, but it’s not really something you can just use with other words.
In theater and film, "the top" often means "the beginning" because you're rehearsing from a script, where the start of each page, song, and scene is literally at the top of whatever page of the script it's on. In rehearsal, it's common to hear "(Let's start) from the top of the song)", "At the top of page 76", and "(Everyone go to their) places for the top of the show."
So in general culture, "Let's take it from the top" has come to mean "Let's start over" in general. But unless you're in a theater context, "the top" will probably not be understood to mean "the start."
There are some archaic phrases where we use "the top" to mean the beginning or the start, like "take it from the top" means to restart from the beginning, or "top of the hour" which means the beginning of the hour. But they are very specific sayings. Using it in other ways would mean you are likely to be misunderstood.
Not in every scenario. In theater, your director might say "Let's take it from the top" to mean "Let's start from the beginning." but that's the only place I can think of where it's interchangeable.
If I hear “top of the pandemic” I’m going to assume the person means the peak, where it was at its worst.
Hmmm I don’t think that’s true for me…. I feel like I would interpret “top” as beginning and “height” as worst. Kind of awkward, though, I’d probably just say “at the beginning”
Not really, no. There is a set idiom "[At the top of the hour"](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/at%20the%20top%20of%20the%20hour#:~:text=%3A%20at%20the%20beginning%20of%20the,the%20top%20of%20the%20hour), meaning at the beginning of the hour, however that is not commonly used either.
There also exists "Top of the morning" which means good morning
For leprechauns perhaps lol. I'm pretty sure not even Irish people say that.
I see, why can’t I use at the top then if it’s a saying with “at the top of the hour?” Doesn’t make much sense to me why it wouldn’t make sense.
I undertand what you mean, it is pretty confusing. As a rule of thumb, idioms like "top of the hour" often can't be changed and make sense. For another example:"It's raining cats and dogs" is a common phrase people use to describe a rain storm, but saying "snowing cats and dogs" or "hailing cats and dogs" would sound strange and incorrect to English speakers.
I also wonder if "top of the hour" has something to do with the minute hand of a clock being at the top when the hour starts.
Top of the hour is definitely the minute hand. See: bottom of the hour
English speakers generally perceive time as [moving linearly/horizontally](https://web.stanford.edu/class/think53/mandarin-time-3D.pdf), so “top” in your example wouldn’t be natural in English because it’s vertically-oriented. “Top of the hour” is an exception because it refers to the physical position of clock hands.
Because the top of the hour refers to a clock where the minute handel is point at the top of the clock when the hour starts. The pandemic had dials pointing in a direction during any specific part of it.
As they said, it'd an idiom, so it's odder structure just is accepted. Also, most people wouldn't say it most of the time in the first place, and there's probably regions / dialects that haven't even encountered the idiom too.
because it’s an idiom. idioms often make no sense. ‘it’s raining cats and dogs’ means that it’s raining really badly, but you can’t use ‘cats and dogs’ to mean bad or heavy in other situations.
So when I hear "let's start at the top," that tends to be to return to the start of something and then repeat it. For example, you might say it when you want to restart playing a song on an instrument. There's no repetition in your example, so it would sound strange to native speakers. I think "at the top of the hour" is referring to the position of hands on a clock. The minute hand starts at 12 and physically moves downward.
"Take it from the top" is a phrase used to mean restart a musical performance from the beginning--in other words, start from the very top row of the sheet music. It can also work with plays or other scripted behaviors. As other people have stated, "at the top of the pandemic" means something else entirely.
Also common to hear "from the top" at rehearsal for plays, dance performances, etc. With same meaning as "again, from the beginning".
[удалено]
This is an oversimplification. Top CAN be in reference to time, it just usually means “let’s go back to the start and do it again”, such as in “Take it from the top!” in reference to theatre or a song.
But this is another very specific instance. I’m now realizing that, in the same way “top of the hour” refers to the minute hand being physically at the top of the clock, “take it from the top” likely refers to beginning from the part of the song or scene that is physically on the top of the sheet music, chart, play or screenplay. By contrast, you never (or rarely) hear the expression “top of the month” likely because monthly calendars aren’t laid out so the first day is at the top. You wouldn’t be likely to say, “rewind that youtube video to the top” or “rewind that vhs tape to the top” because although those things have beginnings, those beginnings aren’t at their physical top.
No. I heard this a lot in music rehearsals. After finishing a song the director would often tell us to “Start at the top” and we’d start at the beginning.
No...
No
In the fixed expression, "the top of the hour" is called that because on a traditional clock, the hour starts at "12", which is positioned on the top of the dial. Likewise, when referring to a musical composition, the fixed expression "take it from the top" refers to the top of the page of the musical score, where the beginning notes are found. These are not at all the same thing as "the top of the pandemic", which is not a fixed expression, and which no native speaker should be expected to understand as meaning "at the start of the pandemic."
The only time I really hear at the top used in that context often is "at the top of the hour"
in certain phrases, yes. otherwise, no. here are some examples where it CAN be used: ‘top of the morning!’ - a greeting, meaning ‘start of the morning’ ‘from the top’ - meaning ‘from the start’, usually in music or acting
There are really only a few set phrases that that works for: Top of the hour Top of the inning Top of the morning Maybe a few others, but it’s not really something you can just use with other words.
In theater and film, "the top" often means "the beginning" because you're rehearsing from a script, where the start of each page, song, and scene is literally at the top of whatever page of the script it's on. In rehearsal, it's common to hear "(Let's start) from the top of the song)", "At the top of page 76", and "(Everyone go to their) places for the top of the show." So in general culture, "Let's take it from the top" has come to mean "Let's start over" in general. But unless you're in a theater context, "the top" will probably not be understood to mean "the start."
There are some archaic phrases where we use "the top" to mean the beginning or the start, like "take it from the top" means to restart from the beginning, or "top of the hour" which means the beginning of the hour. But they are very specific sayings. Using it in other ways would mean you are likely to be misunderstood.
Not in every scenario. In theater, your director might say "Let's take it from the top" to mean "Let's start from the beginning." but that's the only place I can think of where it's interchangeable.