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I always thought it was a weird colloquialism. Saying quarter to three takes exactly the same number of syllables as two forty-five, and the latter is more clea

I always thought it was a weird colloquialism. Saying quarter to three takes exactly the same number of syllables as two forty-five, and the latter is more clear when communicating. You’re also using the word “to” which could be confused with “two” if the communication is garbled over the radio or a bad connection.

function_seven 3y ago
Even worse, I don’t know what “it’s a quarter of three” means. I’ve looked it up, but for some reason I forget it by the time it’s quarter of four!
- wisemang 3y ago
  Took me ages to remember what folks in the UK mean when they say “half six” — it’s 6:30, not “half to six” — even just now I had to double check myself.
  - Symbiote 3y ago
    This is varies by language. In several languages including English, "half six" is an abbreviation of "half [[an hour] past] six". In others, it's "half [[an hour] to] six".
    - Zach_the_Lizard 3y ago
      To this American, "half six" sounds like a roundabout way to describe the number three and not a way to says it's 6:30 (or 5:30 for that matter). I've never heard anyone say that
  - 1986 3y ago
    Yeah I find this one exhausting too because meanwhile in German "half six" is exactly that, "halfway to six"
    - jfk13 3y ago
      But "halfway to six" should be three, surely? (Sorry!) As a British person who learned Swedish -- which also uses that convention -- around the age of 10, I often found myself a little uncertain when hearing "half six" in English, as I grew up with the more explicit "half past six".
    - em-bee 3y ago
      in austria you can learn about "viertel sechs" (quarter six) and "dreiviertel sechs" (three quarter six). i'll let you work out whether those are "viertel nach fünf" (quarter past five) or "viertel vor sechs" (quarter to six), or "viertel nach sechs" (quarter past six), or "viertel vor sieben" (quarter two seven)
  - euroderf 3y ago
    I confuse Finns by saying (at 2330 / 1130pm) that it's "half zero" (puoli nolla). Apparently the consensus concept does not include negative times.
    - stevage 3y ago
      Ha, like in french for some reason you can say "and a half" for hours up to 12 but not beyond. Onze heures et demi. Treize heures trente.
  - jamiek88 3y ago
    Typically we say half past six though which is a bit clearer. That can sometimes get a little blurred with accents particularly some northern ones haf ‘pa six.
sp332 3y ago
I don't really feel every minute passing. If I want to know what time of day it is, putting it in terms of hours is more useful. If you're setting a timer or something where the minutes matter, then you can say 2:45.
fnorder 3y ago
If you have a wristwatch with hands you may not want to identify the exact minute (this can be a little difficult if it has a smaller face), but if it's 5 minutes either way then a "quarter-to" is close enough.
- betenoire 3y ago
  To me, it's about the significant digits. 2:46 is still a quarter to three.
  - WalterBright 3y ago
    When I was in college, it was a thing for students to design and build a digital LED clock out of random logic. A friend of mine wanted to make one that would tell time only in 15 minute chunks, as nobody needed more precise time than that. Yes, I did a digital clock, too, my first digital design/build. It never did work right.
Affric 3y ago
Hours are older than minutes and it's conceptually more simple to only use one unit.
Johnny555 3y ago
Maybe it's to convey a lack of precision, "quarter till 3" is ambiguous and could be anywhere from around 2:41-2:49 (pretty much any time the minute hand is past 40 and before 50), while if you say 2:45 you generally mean 2:45 (2:40, of course is "20 till 3", but is also a bit ambiguous) It feels easier and more natural to round to the nearest 5 or 15 minutes with an analog clock than a digital clock. But I grew up in a time when analog clocks were the norm and digital clocks and watches were an expensive novelty (or used for special purpose clocks) so I became used to analog clocks (and use an analog display on my watch, even though I could just as easily set it to a digital display). When I do use a digital clock, I generally read the time that's displayed, I don't mentally round to the nearest 5 or 15 minutes, only with an analog clock.

function_seven 3y ago

Even worse, I don’t know what “it’s a quarter of three” means. I’ve looked it up, but for some reason I forget it by the time it’s quarter of four!

wisemang 3y ago
Took me ages to remember what folks in the UK mean when they say “half six” — it’s 6:30, not “half to six” — even just now I had to double check myself.
- Symbiote 3y ago
  This is varies by language. In several languages including English, "half six" is an abbreviation of "half [[an hour] past] six". In others, it's "half [[an hour] to] six".
  - Zach_the_Lizard 3y ago
    To this American, "half six" sounds like a roundabout way to describe the number three and not a way to says it's 6:30 (or 5:30 for that matter). I've never heard anyone say that
- 1986 3y ago
  Yeah I find this one exhausting too because meanwhile in German "half six" is exactly that, "halfway to six"
  - jfk13 3y ago
    But "halfway to six" should be three, surely? (Sorry!) As a British person who learned Swedish -- which also uses that convention -- around the age of 10, I often found myself a little uncertain when hearing "half six" in English, as I grew up with the more explicit "half past six".
  - em-bee 3y ago
    in austria you can learn about "viertel sechs" (quarter six) and "dreiviertel sechs" (three quarter six). i'll let you work out whether those are "viertel nach fünf" (quarter past five) or "viertel vor sechs" (quarter to six), or "viertel nach sechs" (quarter past six), or "viertel vor sieben" (quarter two seven)
- euroderf 3y ago
  I confuse Finns by saying (at 2330 / 1130pm) that it's "half zero" (puoli nolla). Apparently the consensus concept does not include negative times.
  - stevage 3y ago
    Ha, like in french for some reason you can say "and a half" for hours up to 12 but not beyond. Onze heures et demi. Treize heures trente.
- jamiek88 3y ago
  Typically we say half past six though which is a bit clearer. That can sometimes get a little blurred with accents particularly some northern ones haf ‘pa six.

sp332 3y ago

I don't really feel every minute passing. If I want to know what time of day it is, putting it in terms of hours is more useful. If you're setting a timer or something where the minutes matter, then you can say 2:45.

fnorder 3y ago

If you have a wristwatch with hands you may not want to identify the exact minute (this can be a little difficult if it has a smaller face), but if it's 5 minutes either way then a "quarter-to" is close enough.

betenoire 3y ago
To me, it's about the significant digits. 2:46 is still a quarter to three.
- WalterBright 3y ago
  When I was in college, it was a thing for students to design and build a digital LED clock out of random logic. A friend of mine wanted to make one that would tell time only in 15 minute chunks, as nobody needed more precise time than that. Yes, I did a digital clock, too, my first digital design/build. It never did work right.

Affric 3y ago

Hours are older than minutes and it's conceptually more simple to only use one unit.

Johnny555 3y ago

Maybe it's to convey a lack of precision, "quarter till 3" is ambiguous and could be anywhere from around 2:41-2:49 (pretty much any time the minute hand is past 40 and before 50), while if you say 2:45 you generally mean 2:45 (2:40, of course is "20 till 3", but is also a bit ambiguous) It feels easier and more natural to round to the nearest 5 or 15 minutes with an analog clock than a digital clock. But I grew up in a time when analog clocks were the norm and digital clocks and watches were an expensive novelty (or used for special purpose clocks) so I became used to analog clocks (and use an analog display on my watch, even though I could just as easily set it to a digital display). When I do use a digital clock, I generally read the time that's displayed, I don't mentally round to the nearest 5 or 15 minutes, only with an analog clock.