#32 You didn't understand my point. It is complicated, but I didn't contradict myself, and I meant "in case of bad weather". ("In case of the weather is bad" wouldn't be correct English, btw - "in case of" has to be followed by a noun, not a new clause.)
Katydid said that in AE "bring a jacket in case of rain" means "bring a jacket because it might rain" (1. bring jacket, 2. perhaps rain)
But she also says that "press button in case of emergency" means "press button if there is an emergency" (1. emergency, 2 press button)
So Katydid is saying that "in case of" can mean both "if something happens" and "because something might happen". In the sentence you quoted I was expressing my surprise at the idea that one phrase could mean two so different things
to her.
Ich finde diesen von dir in #24 beschriebenen Unterschied zwischen "in case of + noun" = "im Falle, dass" und "in case + clause" = "für den Fall, dass" auch höchst unlogisch.Why? It's almost exactly the same construction as in German - or would you say that there's no difference between the two phrases in German? (Checked with my husband and he understands the phrases the way I do, is there a regional difference in DE too? :-o)
I'd say it makes at least as much sense for two different constructions to mean two things as it does for one construction to mean two opposing things, as it evidently does in AE.
FWIW the dictionaries agree with me...
in case (…)because of the possibility of something happening
You'd better take the keys in case I'm out. in case of something(often on official notices) if something happens
In case of fire, ring the alarm bell.http://www.oxfordadvancedlearnersdictionary.c...in caseas a provision against something happening or being true
we put on thick jumpers, in case it was cold. in case of in the event of (a particular situation)
instructions about what to do in case of fire.http://dws-sketch.uk.oup.com/cgi-bin/onlineOd...