Geoffrey wrote: ↑Sun Dec 19, 2021 6:57 pm
...in my opinion the word '
HALF' should have been '
SEGMENT', because the two portions were not of equal length.
Very good point. However, in my experience, it is not unusual to refer to the two parts of a concert, or any other "event" (when there are two parts divided by a single interval) as "the first half" and "the second half", regardless of actual duration of time. And, even if a duration is specified, as in the Cohen programme, the actual time that elapses may be more or less than what is indicated, due to any number of factors.
Even if people know that halves are technically supposed to be equal (and I don't know that they do, but let's give them the benefit of the doubt), it is nonetheless common (based on my experience) for people to use the word "half" rather loosely, in a variety of contexts, simply to describe one of two parts. For example, one may say "half the country" when referring to a specific region or population, separate from another region/population, but by no means meant necessarily to be exactly "half". I am sure that many more examples of a similar nature can be found/recalled .
However, your point remains valid, and if you would prefer a different word, particularly for concerts (but also for anything else in two parts), instead of "segment", I would suggest that "part" is better, and in fact, I have attended/watched/heard numerous concerts (of classical music) in which the segments -- usually only two of them, but not always -- have been referred to by the performer(s) as "parts": "first part", "second part", and even "third part", etc., and often indicated in the programmes with roman numerals -- "Part I", or just "I", etc. -- which of course does not imply equality as does "half", and is therefore not only accurate, but immune to pedantic criticism.
