Triniglish|Trinididioms spoken and explained #79 | Take Yuh Time And Do Fast | Yuh is ah Trini!
"Lord have mercy on Trinis!" I guess one can understand the statement, 'take yuh time and do fast' as it applies to the lazy attitude of most Trinidadians. Did I say that Trinis are lazy? Well, I do apologize because I really meant to say Trinis are a very 'laid back' society of limers!
Take yuh time and do fast... Well, make haste Nah! Simply put one is being told to hurry up and get the job done but in this case, it is expected that the job will be well done and not incomplete.
Now can you recall leaving for work early in the morning and on the way you met someone who was returning home after doing 'task work’? Do you think that they 'took their time or simply got the job done and done well? Most of these workers doing task work are employed with local government ministries, the Ministry of Works or the current '10 days work program' known as URP. Most of these employees do some work but are never given the mandated union agreed task work. To add insult to injury they even complain and want to leave early without cleaning up the site. The foremen in charge don't measure the work done and the supervisors in charge seldom check that the government gets value for the money spent. Talk about laissez-faire attitude (as per answers.com, a more colloquial translation might be 'let them get on with it. They do and they 'do fast' but forget about the 'take yuh time' and most of all it surely does not mean that you get value for money.
Only in Trinidad my friends... So don't complain when things don't get done. However, in Trinidad, the people know what needs to be done when it is politically correct to comment. Simply listen to the talk shows on the radio stations and you will get a better understanding of the conversation.
So next time that you are in Trinidad remembers that most people will "take their time and do fast" but don't expect the job to be that which was expected.