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Ted asks: Please explain “long haul” in this: “This time, they’re in town for the long haul.” My comments: It means that this time, they’re here to stay. They’re not leaving any time soon. In other words, they’re settling in. Still in other words, they’re here for the long term, instead of a short period of time. Now, airliners talk of short haul flights and long haul flights. The short haul flight lasts less than, say, two hours. The long haul flight, on the other hand, takes more than eight hours, for example, depending on the airline you’re flying. Those in between are considered medium haul. A trip by a Chinese airline from Beijing to Zhengzhou, or Shanghai or Hangzhou for that matter is generally considered a short haul flight, lasting less than two hours. If you’re lucky. That is, if everything turns out all right. Depending on the airline you’re flying and depending on the lengths of delays which, often for no good reason, are increasingly a daily occurrence, you should count yourself lucky if you arrive within eight hours of leaving home for the airport. Anyways, the root of the long haul is the act of hauling something. If you “haul”, you pull something heavy with a continuous, steady and unceasing effort. The fishermen, for instance, are hauling in their nets, heavy with some major catches. Long haul, therefore, suggests long distance or long time and, of course, a steady effort. | 
