Splitting Seconds

Before I write this post I want to state that I debunked myself before I even began writing it. Disappointing, but I'm going to write it anyway.

And also before I write this post, I want to point out that the previous paragraph is paradoxical, since I can't write in the post that I'm writing something in the post before writing the post.

That being said, let's start by reviewing a snippet of a conversation I had with a friend last week:

* * * * *

Friend: It took a split second.

Me: A split second?

Friend: Yes, a split second.

Me: What do you mean by a split second?

Friend: Uh... A second.

Me: So why didn't you just say a second?

* * * * *

This revealed two things to me:
1) Somebody, somewhere potentially misused the phrase "split second." And, as you know, if a single person in the entire world potentially misuses a phrase one time I need to say something about it.
2) I'm an annoying friend.

But, the facts are the facts, and here we are. What is going on with this phrase "split second?" What does it really mean? How is it supposed to be used? Is "split second" simply a strange synonym for "a second?" Does it mean, as many people seem to use it to mean, "an instant?" Or (and here's the BIG AND ALREADY PROVED FALSE HYPOTHESIS) does it mean HALF A SECOND?

I thought to myself, if you split a second, you get half a second. Brilliant, I thought to myself, I have deconstructed the term and can write about it. Then I took the brilliant step of looking it up in the dictionary...

"An instant, a fraction of a second. This expression alludes to a stop watch that has two second hands, one above the other, for timing more than one athlete or intervals of a race by a single athlete. Each hand can be stopped independently of the other, so a second can be "split" when one second hand stops a fraction of a second after the other. [c. 1880]"

Here are things I have learned from this experience:
1) The term "split second" has been around since the 1880s and it has a perfectly logical meaning that 99% of the world is using correctly.
2) I have nothing of interest to say anymore on this blog.