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Well yeah, most of the time if I want to be understood I will say “the 1700s” because it is straightforward to connect with familiar dates. We still say “20th
by Isamu 2y ago
Well yeah, most of the time if I want to be understood I will say “the 1700s” because it is straightforward to connect with familiar dates.
We still say “20th century” though because that’s idiomatic.
- macintux 2y agoThe author's point is that idioms change, and this one should.
- Isamu 2y agoI think you misunderstand me. I mean ONLY the specific idiom “the 20th century” because we’ve just spent more than a century using that and it is unambiguous, it’s clear. Use “the 1700s” and the like for all other cases.