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What Does "quarter Till" Mean


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I can't believe anyone would ask this question.

 

I must be OLD!

 

A young person asked my mother what time it was (they saw she had a watch) and she replied "quarter to 9." The person had the deer in the headlights look, and then mymother figured out what was wrong. "Eight forty-five," she then said. "Oh, thanks." Been looking at digital watches too long I guess.

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One of the things lost by the upcoming generation is the whole concept of "clockwise" and "counterclockwise." Analog clocks are a novelty - if they don't actually have numbers on them the young'uns are lost! (Generally - there are exceptions)

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One of the things lost by the upcoming generation is the whole concept of "clockwise" and "counterclockwise." Analog clocks are a novelty - if they don't actually have numbers on them the young'uns are lost! (Generally - there are exceptions)

Unless you're talking about the " Doomsday Clock "! Now that's a different matter. In that case I think it's more like 5 till.

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One of the things lost by the upcoming generation is the whole concept of "clockwise" and "counterclockwise." Analog clocks are a novelty - if they don't actually have numbers on them the young'uns are lost! (Generally - there are exceptions)

Unless you're talking about the " Doomsday Clock "! Now that's a different matter. In that case I think it's more like 5 till.

 

Nope, but close...The doomsday clock and the "hands that threaten doom" are at '2 minutes to midnight'.

 

Ed

(who is an Iron Maiden fan)

Edited by The Badge & the Butterfly
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45

 

I agree..is this having to do with coordinates? Or is it a direction? If so, it would be the same as whatever hour they were referring to, with the 45 minutes precession added in, assuming the classic orientation of "12 o'clock directly in front of you".

 

So, for example, if north is "12 o'clock", then "a quarter til 9" would be 290 degrees on your compass...

 

:unsure:B):)

 

Any help?

 

I'm guessing this is a puzzle cache you are working on.

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45

 

So, for example, if north is "12 o'clock", then "a quarter til 9" would be 290 degrees on your compass...

 

 

Uh, that would be 270 degrees.

 

;);)

 

Not! I'm talking about the hour not the minute hand.

 

If you are using the hour hand it moves to 3/4th the distance between 9 and 10. Refigure.

:tired::huh:

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45

 

So, for example, if north is "12 o'clock", then "a quarter til 9" would be 290 degrees on your compass...

 

 

Uh, that would be 270 degrees.

 

;):o

 

Not! I'm talking about the hour not the minute hand.

 

If you are using the hour hand it moves to 3/4th the distance between 9 and 10. Refigure.

:huh:;)

 

Then wouldn't that be quarter till 10?? :tired:

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This is an absolutely true story.

 

When I was working as a lifeguard at a public pool, I had a young boy walk up to me and ask me what time it was. I responded with "it's a quarter to three".

 

The boy says "can you tell me that in metric ?"

 

I reply sure - "two forty-five"

 

With a "Thanks" the boy walks away fully knowing what time it is in metric !

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This is an absolutely true story.

 

When I was working as a lifeguard at a public pool, I had a young boy walk up to me and ask me what time it was. I responded with "it's a quarter to three".

 

The boy says "can you tell me that in metric ?"

 

I reply sure - "two forty-five"

 

With a "Thanks" the boy walks away fully knowing what time it is in metric !

 

Serves you right for using Imperial Units the first time! Duh! :)

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This is an absolutely true story.

 

When I was working as a lifeguard at a public pool, I had a young boy walk up to me and ask me what time it was. I responded with "it's a quarter to three".

 

The boy says "can you tell me that in metric ?"

 

I reply sure - "two forty-five"

 

With a "Thanks" the boy walks away fully knowing what time it is in metric !

 

Should have told him it was 2:75 :(:)

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This (non-scientific) map shows some US regional variations in how people express a time that is 15 minutes before the hour.

 

(I was surprised to see any red dots in New England... most people I know of who are originally from around here say "quarter of", never "quarter till" or "quarter to".)

 

edit:

Similarly, people here would say "quarter past two" and not "quarter after two". But I think that only old people say "half past" (and they pronounce it "huppahst") rather than "two-thirty".

Edited by the hermit crabs
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It's the use of two L's that is interesting to me. Hmmm..... :)

 

Actually "till" does appear to be the correct spelling for this context... I used to spell it "til", and spell-checkers kept correcting me, and I was irritated about it enough one day to look it up. I was surprised to find two dictionaries that both listed "till" as the correct spelling for the word that means "until". One of them did list "'til" as a variant (apostrophe required); the other one didn't list it at all.

 

(edit: speaking of spell-checkers... :( )

Edited by the hermit crabs
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This (non-scientific) map shows some US regional variations in how people express a time that is 15 minutes before the hour.

 

(I was surprised to see any red dots in New England... most people I know of who are originally from around here say "quarter of", never "quarter till" or "quarter to".)

 

edit:

Similarly, people here would say "quarter past two" and not "quarter after two". But I think that only old people say "half past" (and they pronounce it "huppahst") rather than "two-thirty".

 

Or you can add "Quarter of" to your list.

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One of the things lost by the upcoming generation is the whole concept of "clockwise" and "counterclockwise." Analog clocks are a novelty - if they don't actually have numbers on them the young'uns are lost! (Generally - there are exceptions)

 

Agree... I teach 7th grade.. gotta say MOST of my kids can not read an analog clock, and very few could tell you how many minutes elapse between 11:47AM and 1:45PM.

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What does "quarter till" mean to you?

 

 

As a hint? Looking at a clock face, anything "quarter till" is 180 degrees. It might be a bearing. It's the use of two L's that is interesting to me. Hmmm..... :lol:

 

 

Uh (again)... no,quarter till is 270 degrees or west. 180 is south.

Link to comment

This (non-scientific) map shows some US regional variations in how people express a time that is 15 minutes before the hour.

 

(I was surprised to see any red dots in New England... most people I know of who are originally from around here say "quarter of", never "quarter till" or "quarter to".)

 

edit:

Similarly, people here would say "quarter past two" and not "quarter after two". But I think that only old people say "half past" (and they pronounce it "huppahst") rather than "two-thirty".

 

interesting study.. but the presentation of the digital numbers "2:45" makes me think "two forty five", while an analog clock face would trigger "quarter o' three" in my brain.... wonder how they actually conducted the test?

Link to comment

This (non-scientific) map shows some US regional variations in how people express a time that is 15 minutes before the hour.

 

(I was surprised to see any red dots in New England... most people I know of who are originally from around here say "quarter of", never "quarter till" or "quarter to".)

 

edit:

Similarly, people here would say "quarter past two" and not "quarter after two". But I think that only old people say "half past" (and they pronounce it "huppahst") rather than "two-thirty".

 

interesting study.. but the presentation of the digital numbers "2:45" makes me think "two forty five", while an analog clock face would trigger "quarter o' three" in my brain.... wonder how they actually conducted the test?

This page has links to all of the questions as they were worded.

Link to comment

This (non-scientific) map shows some US regional variations in how people express a time that is 15 minutes before the hour.

 

(I was surprised to see any red dots in New England... most people I know of who are originally from around here say "quarter of", never "quarter till" or "quarter to".)

 

edit:

Similarly, people here would say "quarter past two" and not "quarter after two". But I think that only old people say "half past" (and they pronounce it "huppahst") rather than "two-thirty".

 

Fascinating! I grew up right near that black "other" dot in Maine. And I always say "quarter to", "quarter past" and "half past"

 

That wasn't even an option on the poll, so it just says other...

 

:lol:

Link to comment

This (non-scientific) map shows some US regional variations in how people express a time that is 15 minutes before the hour.

 

(I was surprised to see any red dots in New England... most people I know of who are originally from around here say "quarter of", never "quarter till" or "quarter to".)

 

edit:

Similarly, people here would say "quarter past two" and not "quarter after two". But I think that only old people say "half past" (and they pronounce it "huppahst") rather than "two-thirty".

 

interesting study.. but the presentation of the digital numbers "2:45" makes me think "two forty five", while an analog clock face would trigger "quarter o' three" in my brain.... wonder how they actually conducted the test?

This page has links to all of the questions as they were worded.

 

So the test results were probably skewed toward "two forty five" because they saw "2:45" rather than an analog clock face.

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Unless you're talking about the " Doomsday Clock "! Now that's a different matter. In that case I think it's more like 5 till.

 

Nope, but close...The doomsday clock and the "hands that threaten doom" are at '2 minutes to midnight'.

 

Ed

(who is an Iron Maiden fan)

 

Actually, we're doing better than that.

 

Chicago, February 27, 2002: Today, the Board of Directors of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists moves the minute hand of the "Doomsday Clock," the symbol of nuclear danger, from nine to seven minutes to midnight, the same setting at which the clock debuted 55 years ago.
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What does "quarter till" mean to you?

 

 

As a hint? Looking at a clock face, anything "quarter till" is 180 degrees. It might be a bearing. It's the use of two L's that is interesting to me. Hmmm..... :huh:

 

 

Uh (again)... no,quarter till is 270 degrees or west. 180 is south.

 

OK, that's twice it's come up. Gettin' funnier each time too! :lol:

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This is an absolutely true story.

 

When I was working as a lifeguard at a public pool, I had a young boy walk up to me and ask me what time it was. I responded with "it's a quarter to three".

 

The boy says "can you tell me that in metric ?"

 

I reply sure - "two forty-five"

 

With a "Thanks" the boy walks away fully knowing what time it is in metric !

 

Should have told him it was 2:75 B)B)

 

That's Base-60.Decimal time. If you really want metric time (which is Base-10), then you should read this. Using the proposed formula, 2:45 would be aproximately 61.459 local metric time assuming we're talking PM and not AM. I've never been really good at math, so this might be off.

Edited by TotemLake
Link to comment

This (non-scientific) map shows some US regional variations in how people express a time that is 15 minutes before the hour.

 

(I was surprised to see any red dots in New England... most people I know of who are originally from around here say "quarter of", never "quarter till" or "quarter to".)

 

edit:

Similarly, people here would say "quarter past two" and not "quarter after two". But I think that only old people say "half past" (and they pronounce it "huppahst") rather than "two-thirty".

 

interesting study.. but the presentation of the digital numbers "2:45" makes me think "two forty five", while an analog clock face would trigger "quarter o' three" in my brain.... wonder how they actually conducted the test?

 

For me, it's 105 min after 1:00 ! <_<

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A young person asked my mother what time it was (they saw she had a watch) and she replied "quarter to 9." The person had the deer in the headlights look, and then mymother figured out what was wrong. "Eight forty-five," she then said. "Oh, thanks." Been looking at digital watches too long I guess.

 

Actually, in CALIFORNIA schools, all children of a certain age or grade must be able to recognize, read and understand the significance of an analog clock face.

 

That said, what Chris of john + chris is referring to is this cache: GCV0XG.

In the typically evil manner of all 2Trax caches, the name is very significant to whether or not one locates the cache. In this case knowing how to read an analog clock and being able to visualize it in a digital manner is an essential tool in what is required to find the cache and sign the log.

 

Again, in typical to all of 2Trax's caches, the name makes almost no sense until you locate it - then the lightbulb (usually) comes on. This cache is no exception. However, I'm still scratching my noggin' over how long the logbook will last... <_<

 

RedwoodRed

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