Brian Morrison wrote: > M.S. Lucas wrote: > > > In Dutch it is '19 January, 2006' just like > > 15:30 is `half four' and not 'half past three' > > That would really confuse people in the UK. "Half four" is verbal > shorthand for half *past* four whereas the Dutch (and German IIRC) is > more literally "half of four" (which isn't 2 either) meaning half > *before* four. I think the US uses this idiom too, BICBW.
I can't speak for the US in general, but I've never heard that idiom. What I generally hear is: 5:15 = "quarter past five" 5:30 = "half past five" 5:45 = "quarter to six" However, those types of idioms seem to be rapidly disappearing from general usage. I'm much more likely to hear (and say) "five thirty" or "five fifteen". Of course I live in Florida and those types of idioms can vary widely across the US. -- Bowie _______________________________________________ http://lurker.clamav.net/list/clamav-users.html
