The Lemon Fool

I currently live in North America and I told my well educated work college “I will see you at half past one”. He said, without any intention of humour or sarcasm, “can you please not say that, I always think you want to meet a half a minute past one. Please can you say ‘I will see you at one thirty’”.

What was an appropriate reply?

SDN

Is that thirty minutes or thirty seconds?

--kiloran
edit... and am or pm?

kiloran wrote:Is that thirty minutes or thirty seconds?

--kiloran
edit... and am or pm?

If you understand him correctly that he means at 30 minutes past 1pm, then the correct answer is surely, ‘OK’.

Dod

SDN123 wrote:I currently live in North America and I told my well educated work college “I will see you at half past one”. He said, without any intention of humour or sarcasm, “can you please not say that, I always think you want to meet a half a minute past one. Please can you say ‘I will see you at one thirty’”.

What was an appropriate reply?

SDN

So your colleague has made this mistake before! Surely by now they should've realised what you mean? How many times have they turned up 29.5 mins too early and why in the name of Father Time would they think you mean to meet them at 30 seconds after the hour? Now , if they were German I could understand that they might turn up at the wrong time (meet you at "half two" means meet you at 13:30).

So, an appropriate reply might be " well, you'll be waiting ~half an hour for me....again!"

Reminds me of that joke -

A woman asked an Army General when the last time he had made love to a woman.

The general replied "1956, ma'am."

The woman, in disbelief, said "1956?! That long? Come with me and let me make your night better."

The woman and general went back to her apartment and made passionate love for over an hour.

Afterwards, the woman cuddled up to the general and said "Well, you sure haven't forgotten anything since 1956..."

The general looked at her, confused, and replied "I sure hope not, it's only 2130 now."

Cheers!

Itsallaguess

SDN123 wrote:I currently live in North America and I told my well educated work college “I will see you at half past one”. He said, without any intention of humour or sarcasm, “can you please not say that, I always think you want to meet a half a minute past one. Please can you say ‘I will see you at one thirty’”.

What was an appropriate reply?

SDN

Learn to deal with other cultures? Of course, that's not how I actually deal with my American colleagues.

SDN123 wrote:What was an appropriate reply?
SDN

What block is that on?

"Half past" anything is not a phrase I would use in America, since Americans don't really use it. They might understand "half after one" better. But 1:30 is best. And don't use a 24 hour clock there either, unless you want people to think you are in the military. It is 1:30 p.m.

Say "half" with a short "a" and a silent "l" unless you are wishing to come across like you are auditioning for Masterpiece Theatre.

"Quarter after" and "Quarter of" are better than "Quarter past" and "Quarter to".

And of course don't use "See you in a fortnight".

Obviously anything metric is out - one of the finest things about America.

Basically I agree with Lootman about the need, when in Rome, to talk as the Romans do. Well, except when they talk about gallons and quarts, because nobody likes getting short measures. The best case yet for metric measures, but one which the world's largest near-island has yet to grasp.

Still, it's a slippery thing, time. If a German agrees to meet you at halb sieben, he means half past six. Which is why all the sunloungers around the pool are taken by the time you've finished breakfast.

(Ob. eyebrow-raising note. If you google the images from https://www.google.com/search?q=halb+zwei+uhr, you'll notice that the jury is nicely split between 1.30 and 2.30. Funny thing, language.)

BJ

bungeejumper wrote:Basically I agree with Lootman about the need, when in Rome, to talk as the Romans do. Well, except when they talk about gallons and quarts, because nobody likes getting short measures. The best case yet for metric measures, but one which the world's largest near-island has yet to grasp.

Still, it's a slippery thing, time. If a German agrees to meet you at halb sieben, he means half past six. Which is why all the sunloungers around the pool are taken by the time you've finished breakfast.

(Ob. eyebrow-raising note. If you google the images from https://www.google.com/search?q=halb+zwei+uhr, you'll notice that the jury is nicely split between 1.30 and 2.30. Funny thing, language.)

BJ

Back of one it is then

Though is there a geographic split in the US? I've found after and past to both crop up and I can't for the moment break down who uses what (I'll pay attention now ). I deal with folk over quite a bit of it and I've never had to worry about confusing anyone yet (unlike as you say gallons! )

I used to know someone who called 1.25
Five and Twenty past
WHAT !!!!

pje16 wrote:I used to know someone who called 1.25
Five and Twenty past
WHAT !!!!

Was he delivering your blackbird pies?

Ahh that explains the mangling of the language
(I'd forgotton that one)

bungeejumper wrote: when in Rome, to talk as the Romans do. Well, except when they talk about gallons and quarts, because nobody likes getting short measures. The best case yet for metric measures, but one which the world's largest near-island has yet to grasp.

Like anything, it is a breeze once you get used to it. Call a US pint 16 fluid ounces rather than 20, and a US gallon is 4 litres rather than 5. It's just another conversion.

Some of the better American bars (usually brewpubs or craft beer bars) make a point of serving "imperial pints" i.e. 20 fluid ounces. And that great American tradition the pitcher of beer is usually 60 fluid ounces or 3 British-sized pints.

As for gallons being smaller, at least with petrol it hardly matters since "gas" is so much cheaper there. Americans are currently exclaiming outrage that gas is $5 a gallon. With 4 litres in that gallon then that is $1.25 a litre, or a quid a litre. Feel better now?

Lootman wrote:Americans are currently exclaiming outrage that gas is $5 a gallon. With 4 litres in that gallon then that is $1.25 a litre, or a quid a litre. Feel better now?

And over here are we misled by a price of £1.98 per litre, think of that as £9 per gallon and we would be more outraged

pje16 wrote:I used to know someone who called 1.25
Five and Twenty past
WHAT !!!!

I routinely do that.

Of course, it's a little context-dependent: if I'm talking to someone grumpy and not very bright then I'd steer clear of it. Whereas if I'm talking to someone sufficiently familiar (like my dad) then I might even extend the idiom: 10:04 is "ten, four and noughty".

"See you this-afternoon when the big hand is on the six, and the little hand is half-way between the one and the two."

Simple and unambiguous!


Julian F. G. W.

It means the same thing now, at 10:11

pje16 wrote:I used to know someone who called 1.25
Five and Twenty past
WHAT !!!!

Something my late father often did!

Time is very simple. Here's a short tutorial from Dave Allen..... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0QVPUIRGthI

--kiloran