This document discusses two English idioms: "at the same time" and "in the meantime". It explains that "at the same time" can be used both literally to refer to events occurring simultaneously as well as figuratively to mean "nevertheless" or "however". In contrast, "in the meantime" always refers literally to a gap of time between events. Mastering the meanings of idioms requires experience with the language as their meanings cannot be determined from the individual words alone.

1. Languages are full of examples of phrases that are particular to a specific people, district,
community, or class. These phrases are known as idioms. Another characteristic of an
idiom is that the meaning of it cannot always be determined by its individual words,
which is another reason why they are so difficult to master. Experience using the
language is the greatest teacher. One such phrase is “at the same time.” If you look at
this phrase you see the words “same time.” Taking them in a literal way, your first
reaction may be to conclude that the phrase is communicating how two or more things
are happening at exactly the same moment in time. As in,
“We both arrived at the party at the same time.”
Native English speakers will recognize another usage of this phrase. Experience with
English has taught them that there is a figurative meaning as well. When we say “at the
same time” in a figurative manner, we are communicating “nevertheless,” “however;” or
“along with that.”
“I was willing to come to work today. At the same time, I was not happy about
losing a day off.”
It is interesting to note that “nevertheless” and “however” are used quite extensively in the
English language. In fact, it is so common that it is easy to over-use the words.
As we just saw, the literal meaning of “at the same time” was that two or more things were
happening at exactly the same moment in time. At the same time (See what I did there?),
the phrase “in the meantime” defines just the opposite. When there is a space of time
separating the events, we can use the idiom “in the meantime.”
“I had to write an article about the two idioms ‘in the mean time and at the same
time.’ In the meantime, all I could think about was playing guitar.”
This idiom only has one meaning. So, whereas it was not possible to consider the individual
words in “at the same time” and arrive at a definition, the meaning of “meantime” is the same
as the entire idiom, and therefore the meaning of the idiom can be derived from the individual
word.
Well, I hope this helped you understand how to use these two phrases. Okay, so now I can
play guitar.