At the point of/On the point of

[andrew011]

I saw that "at the point" is archaic in Merriam-Webster dictionary. Is the same true for "on the point"?
Example: She was on(at) the point of leaving when he called her

 

[Keith Bradford]

"She was on the point of leaving..." is perfectly good.

 

[owlman5]

At the point of leaving sounds ordinary to me, Andrew. On the point of leaving sounds a little off.

 

[lingobingo]

I think you must have misunderstood something in Merriam-Webster? See this: Definition of AT THE POINT OF

 

[andrew011]

At the point of leaving sounds ordinary to me, Andrew. On the point of leaving sounds a little off.

I understand that there's probably no rule for this, but could you give some advice on using "at the point of" and "on the point of"?

 

[andrew011]

I think you must have misunderstood something in Merriam-Webster? See this: Definition of AT THE POINT OF

Sorry, I meant unabridged Merriam-webster. It's paid version

 

[owlman5]

I always use and hear at the point of X. Here is a typical sentence that uses the phrase: She was at the point of no return.

 

[andrew011]

I always use and hear at the point of X. Here is a typical sentence that uses the phrase: She was at the point of no return.

so, "at the point of crying" is totally ok to you?

 

[owlman5]

Yes, it is. That sounds much more natural to me than on the point of crying.

 

[andrew011]

Yes, it is. That sounds much more natural to me than on the point of crying.

Got it! Thank you

 

[lingobingo]

To be on the point of doing something is to be just about to do it.

You may be able to express the same thing using at, but that would normally require a different construction. For example: He was at the point where he felt ready to give up.

I should perhaps add that I don’t find either of Merriam-Webster’s examples (in the link in #4) at all natural. I don’t know how they sound to AE speakers. It looks like there’s a BE/AE difference here.

 

[andrew011]

Yeah, that is American dictionary

To be on the point of doing something is to be just about to do it.

You may be able to express the same thing using at, but that would normally require a different construction. For example: He was at the point where he felt ready to give up.

I should perhaps add that I don’t find either of Merriam-Webster’s examples (in the link in #4) at all natural. I don’t know how they sound to AE speakers.