Curious uses of “bi”
City of Progress March 13th, 2007
When one refers to something as “biweekly”, that is to say it occurs every other week. This is different from “semi-weekly”, which refers to something that occurs twice a week. Thus, biweekly=semimonthly. Please correct me if I am wrong.
The dictionary that comes with OS X says:
Therefore, I think it is always preferable to say “once every two weeks,” or “twice a week.” For unrelated reasons it is always preferable to say “bicoastal curious” rather than “interested in the lifestyle, culture, and practices of both coasts of the United States.”
The OED indicates that biweekly can mean EITHER twice a week or every two weeks, but that this confusion can be avoided by using semi-weekly to mean twice in a week, as you suggest.
Query: What does this mean for bisexuality? Are people interested in two sexes or half a sex?
“Semi-weekly” will help clear things up when you want to say “twice in a week,” but what’s the express shorthand for once every two weeks? “Semi-monthly?”