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On Sun, 14 Nov 2004 06:26 pm, Michael Moore
posted to rec.radio.shortwave: %MM Radio Flyer wrote: "Quarter Of" and "Quarter After" are more southern terms, though used other places as well. "Quarter To" and "Quarter Past" are more northern terms (Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Chicago). Zulu is also used in aviation. We also use "quarter after" (as well as "quarter past") here in the Great White North -- however, I've never heard "quarter of" before. You got snow in Tronna? |
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= = = BDK wrote in message
= = = ... In article , says... I've never heard this before. What does "quarter of 10" mean? Is this before 10 or after 10? I thought it was my hearing until this was repeated. "quarter to" and "quarter after", rarely "quarter past" are all usual ways of saying this around here. Though digital clocks make it "ten fifteen". I think this must be a regionalism or slang for somewhere in the USA (?). I also hear "zulu" said instead of UTC (or the old GMT). How old are you? I can't believe anyone over 25 hasn't heard the term before. As others have posted, a "quarter" is 15 minutes, AKA 1/4 of an hour... BDK FO&A, Let us remember that Two Quarters make a Half. As in "Half Past the Hour" (30 Minutes after the Hour) The 'concept' of Quarters was most likely a Visual Imaging {A Memory Tool} for many who were used to the old fashion "Round" ANALOG Clocks and Watches. Close Your Eyes and 'think' of the Round Clock face as a Pie Chart. This Imaging of a Round Clock is were we also get the terms: - Top-of-the-Hour {Exactly "On-the-Hour" - The Hour and Zero Minutes} - Bottom-of-the-Hour {Exactly 30 Minutes Between Hours} about: money, Money. MONEY ! The Quarter US Dollar 25 Cents is easy to understand. But the expression "Two-Bits" is strange to many since 'One-Bit' would be 12.5 Cents HUH? Unless one is told that a "Bit" referred to a Piece-of-Eight (A 1/8th part 'piece' of a Spanish Coin being a Piece-of-Eight) and at one time in our history the US Quater Dollar was literaly compared to Two Pieces-of-Eight - Hence the expression "Two-Bits" ! AMERICA'S TWO-BIT COINS - by Thomas LaMarre (ANA) http://www.money.org/mtquarter.html The Amazing Greenback Dollar and President, Abraham Lincoln http://www.xat.org/cgi-bin/fcp.pl?wo...&d=/xat3a.html The History of the "Greenback Dollar" http://ecclesia.org/forum/uploads/bo...greenbackP.pdf more than you wanted to know ~ RHF .. .. |
" Radio Flyer" wrote in message ... "Quarter Of" and "Quarter After" are more southern terms, though used other places as well. "Quarter To" and "Quarter Past" are more northern terms (Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Chicago). Zulu is also used in aviation. "uncle arnie" wrote in message ... I've never heard this before. What does "quarter of 10" mean? Is this before 10 or after 10? I thought it was my hearing until this was repeated. "quarter to" and "quarter after", rarely "quarter past" are all usual ways of saying this around here. Though digital clocks make it "ten fifteen". I think this must be a regionalism or slang for somewhere in the USA (?). I also hear "zulu" said instead of UTC (or the old GMT). I'm from the EAST (PA & NJ). All of the above (Radio Flyer's) examples have been and are still used. I think they are 'age' related, not regionally related. HankG |
uncle arnie wrote:
You got snow in Tronna? No. The weather has been seasonably good here. I sure hope we do not get what Halifax got. Cheers! -- M2 |
Interestingly, the term "O'Clock" is a term that has survived in English
since mediaeval times. It is a contraction of "of the clock". So, for example, "nine o'clock" is a shortened version of nine of the clock". Mark. Auckland, New Zealand. "uncle arnie" &mex. wrote in message ... Thanks, you gave me the origin of this as well as the meaning by this post. I imagine we could also do some other terms too. On Sun, 14 Nov 2004 12:14 pm, Al Patrick posted to rec.radio.shortwave: %MM Ace, I knew YOU knew. I wasn't too sure about the party asking the original question. ;-) Al ========= dxAce wrote: Al Patrick wrote: The "Quarter of" / "Quarter till" and "Quarter past" / "Quarter after" that dxAce and Keyboard in the Wilderness have mentioned refer to a "Quarter" of an hour. Well... yes, that's exactly what 15 minutes is! dxAce wrote: uncle arnie wrote: I've never heard this before. What does "quarter of 10" mean? Is this before 10 or after 10? I thought it was my hearing until this was repeated. "quarter to" and "quarter after", rarely "quarter past" are all usual ways of saying this around here. Though digital clocks make it "ten fifteen". I think this must be a regionalism or slang for somewhere in the USA (?). I also hear "zulu" said instead of UTC (or the old GMT). Quarter of 10 means 15 minutes to 10. Zulu is used the same as UTC and GMT. Zulu is more of a military term. dxAce Michigan USA |
Your post raises an interesting topic. The relation between the sun, a
compass and an analogue watch (or clock) is an equation. If you have any two of these three items, the third can be determined. For example, if you can see the sun, and you are wearing an analogue watch, you can determine true North. Or, if you have a compass, and you can see the sun, you can determine what time it is. Remember, that it is a watch or clock that is used to determine longitude also. First, you set your watch to midday exactly as the sun reaches the highest point in the sky (Note: your watch is now set to sidereal time and not mean time). Next, sail (for simplicity) due East. Next day, when the sun is at its highest, see what the time is on your watch. Let's say its 11 o'clock. Then you have travelled 15 degrees East of where you started (remembering that 360 degrees of longitude divided by 24 hours is 15 degrees per hour). No navigator would be seen without his/her analogue watch! Finally, a question: There is a time zone in the world which is set to UTC. And there are 12 times zones which are ahead of UTC (+1, +2, etc) (and, yes, some partial hour variations too). And there's 12 timezones which are less than UTC (-1, -2, etc). That adds up to 25 time zones. Yet there's only 24 hours in a day! What's going on? (Hint: the timezone at my location holds the answer) Mark. Auckland, New Zealand, which is currently UTC + 13 hours. "uncle arnie" &mex. wrote in message ... Thanks, you gave me the origin of this as well as the meaning by this post. I imagine we could also do some other terms too. On Sun, 14 Nov 2004 12:14 pm, Al Patrick posted to rec.radio.shortwave: %MM Ace, I knew YOU knew. I wasn't too sure about the party asking the original question. ;-) Al ========= dxAce wrote: Al Patrick wrote: The "Quarter of" / "Quarter till" and "Quarter past" / "Quarter after" that dxAce and Keyboard in the Wilderness have mentioned refer to a "Quarter" of an hour. Well... yes, that's exactly what 15 minutes is! dxAce wrote: uncle arnie wrote: I've never heard this before. What does "quarter of 10" mean? Is this before 10 or after 10? I thought it was my hearing until this was repeated. "quarter to" and "quarter after", rarely "quarter past" are all usual ways of saying this around here. Though digital clocks make it "ten fifteen". I think this must be a regionalism or slang for somewhere in the USA (?). I also hear "zulu" said instead of UTC (or the old GMT). Quarter of 10 means 15 minutes to 10. Zulu is used the same as UTC and GMT. Zulu is more of a military term. dxAce Michigan USA |
Mark wrote: Your post raises an interesting topic. The relation between the sun, a compass and an analogue watch (or clock) is an equation. If you have any two of these three items, the third can be determined. For example, if you can see the sun, and you are wearing an analogue watch, you can determine true North. Or, if you have a compass, and you can see the sun, you can determine what time it is. Remember, that it is a watch or clock that is used to determine longitude also. First, you set your watch to midday exactly as the sun reaches the highest point in the sky (Note: your watch is now set to sidereal time and not mean time). Next, sail (for simplicity) due East. Next day, when the sun is at its highest, see what the time is on your watch. Let's say its 11 o'clock. Then you have travelled 15 degrees East of where you started (remembering that 360 degrees of longitude divided by 24 hours is 15 degrees per hour). No navigator would be seen without his/her analogue watch! Finally, a question: There is a time zone in the world which is set to UTC. And there are 12 times zones which are ahead of UTC (+1, +2, etc) (and, yes, some partial hour variations too). And there's 12 timezones which are less than UTC (-1, -2, etc). That adds up to 25 time zones. Yet there's only 24 hours in a day! What's going on? (Hint: the timezone at my location holds the answer) It has to do with the International Date Line, correct? dxAce Michigan USA |
On Sun, 14 Nov 2004 08:19:02 -0600, uncle arnie
wrote: I've never heard this before. What does "quarter of 10" mean? Is this before 10 or after 10? I thought it was my hearing until this was repeated. "quarter to" and "quarter after", rarely "quarter past" are all usual ways of saying this around here. Though digital clocks make it "ten fifteen". I think this must be a regionalism or slang for somewhere in the USA (?). Not US, as far as I know. My parents were from Ireland and they always used "quarter of" for a quarter to the hour. Also "ten (minutes) of" for minutes, etc. before the hour. Also quarter past and half past for after the hour. Another of their time phrasings was "He's one age to her" meaning they were of the same age. None of those usages were common among the people I grew up with in California. Note: After the coming of digital wris****ches, someone once said, "No one except a train conductor needs to know that it's eight thirty-seven." I also hear "zulu" said instead of UTC (or the old GMT). |
On Sun, 14 Nov 2004 13:48:42 -0600, uncle arnie
&mex. wrote: Thanks, you gave me the origin of this as well as the meaning by this post. I imagine we could also do some other terms too. I was in my twenties before I doped out that a fifth of whiskey meant a fifth of a gallon. |
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