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Glossary entry

English term or phrase:

Except after hours, and then we lock them.

English answer:

we lock the doors when we close at the end of the working day

Added to glossary by Yasutomo Kanazawa
Jan 19, 2015 13:07
9 yrs ago
2 viewers *
English term

Except after hours, and then we lock them.

English Marketing Advertising / Public Relations Tagline
Burger King first opened its door in Miami in 1954. And we've been open ever since. "Except after hours, and then we lock them."

I understand the first two sentences, but I can't understand the last in " " If I rephrase the last sentence, it would be something like ONLY after hours, we lock them, or Excluding open hours, we lock them.

Why is "except" used here?

This is a tagline in a frame hanging on the walls of one of the Burger King chains in Japan.
Would someone kindly explain?
Responses
4 +8 we lock the doors when we close at the end of the working day

Discussion

Phoenix III Jan 20, 2015:
It's not an intended pun. It's creative writing tying one concept together to enforce the idea to the customer that our doors are always open to you, you can rely on us.
Yasutomo Kanazawa (asker) Jan 20, 2015:
@Phoenix III Yes, I understood the first part you mentioned. And I also thought about an intended pun. But somehow I couldn't understand the use of "except after hours" like I mentioned in the explanation above.
Phoenix III Jan 19, 2015:
@ Asker It's really very simple. The sentence begins with BK first OPENED it's doors... meaning they have never closed (sold out, bankruptcy, etc.). They've been consistently opened. Then they tie the concept by saying, well, we actually do close the doors at the end of the (working) day.
José Patrício Jan 19, 2015:
I think they began opening normaly and then only a couple of hours (?)

Responses

+8
5 mins
Selected

we lock the doors when we close at the end of the working day

A play on words - mildly humorous - meaning "We have been open since the company was founded, but, in truth, we do actually lock the doors when we close down for the night."

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Note added at 11 mins (2015-01-19 13:19:20 GMT)
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"We have been open since the company was founded" could be considered to mean that the stores have been open 24 hours a day and 365 days a year since 1954.

To qualify this statement, which nobody would really consider to mean precisely that, someone added the tag line saying "Although we say that, we do actually close and lock the doors at night when we close the store"
Peer comment(s):
agree Carol Gullidge : was about to post s.t. very similar :)
1 min
Hi Carol, it's "ladies first" next time :-)
agree Arabic & More
15 mins
Thanks Amel
agree Terry Richards
45 mins
THX Terry
agree British Diana
49 mins
Thanks BD
agree acetran
1 hr
THX2U2
agree Jack Doughty
2 hrs
Thanks Jack
agree Paolo Chiocchetti
2 hrs
Grazie tanto
agree Yvonne Gallagher
8 hrs
THX!
Something went wrong...
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer. Comment: "Thank you Yorkshireman for the clear explanation. Now I get the point and I award you 4 KudoZ points. "
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