Nelly Min

Reader's question:

For those who have probably forgotten that the due date for submission was last Wednesday, I am giving you an opportunity to be heard until cob today. Could you explain “cob”? Is it an abbreviation?

My comments:

COB is an acronym that stands for “close of business.” It usually means 5:00 p.m., when the business day is officially over and marks the end of the day in financial markets and offices. So when someone sets a deadline of ‘cob today,’ it means by 5:00 p.m. that day. It is one of the acronyms commonly used in business settings but has spread to general usage. Other examples include ASAP (as soon as possible), FYI (for your information) and FYEO (for your eyes only).

Related stories:

What's the catch?

Marriage material

Nuts and bolts

Across the board

Be in someone’s shoes

In that vein

The devil you know…

Right out of the gate

Leap-frog

Up the ante

loose ends

Nose-bleed section

Off the rails

Keeping up with the Jones's

Benefits package

Closed-door talk

March Madness

On-again,off-again

本文仅代表作者本人观点，与本网立场无关。欢迎大家讨论学术问题，尊重他人，禁止人身攻击和发布一切违反国家现行法律法规的内容。

Nelly Min is a journalist at the China Daily website.