‘A while’ is not something I say, but I’ve noticed that many people do. I’ve also noticed that ‘a while’ has an infinite number of meanings.
I’m not very good at reading minds and when I guess how long your ‘a while’ is my strike rate at guessing right is pretty low. So… I ask. When I’m told something is going to take ‘a while’ my very next question is “so how long is a while?”
‘A while’- sometimes it means a minute, sometimes it means a month. Asking works for me.