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 pas

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.