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apprentice
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| Posted: Tue Aug 09, 2005 5:45 pm
Post subject: score |
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Is it true that "score" equals 20?
Paweł
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Tony Mountifield
Guest
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| Posted: Tue Aug 09, 2005 5:45 pm
Post subject: Re: score |
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In article <57565$42f89757$540aa681$15744@news.chello.pl>,
apprentice <mailpawel@wp.pl> wrote:
| Quote: | Is it true that "score" equals 20?
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Yes, but more accurately, "a score" equals 20. It's archaic usage.
Other related archaisms are "threescore" for 60 and "fourscore" for 80,
and in those cases they are not preceded by "a" and are a single word.
Cheers
Tony
--
Tony Mountifield
Work: tony@softins.co.uk - http://www.softins.co.uk
Play: tony@mountifield.org - http://tony.mountifield.org |
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Nick Wagg
Guest
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| Posted: Tue Aug 09, 2005 6:38 pm
Post subject: Re: score |
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"apprentice" <mailpawel@wp.pl> wrote in message
news:57565$42f89757$540aa681$15744@news.chello.pl...
| Quote: | Is it true that "score" equals 20?
|
A score is 20 but is not often used nowadays, except for
money, in slang.
A gross is 144 but is used only for screws in my experience.
A dozen is 12 (eggs are still nearly always sold by the dozen)
A baker's dozen is 13 (presumably it was customary to throw
in an extra one if you bought 12).
Half-a-dozen is 6, and still in wide use.
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Paul Burke
Guest
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| Posted: Tue Aug 09, 2005 6:42 pm
Post subject: Re: score |
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Nick Wagg wrote:
| Quote: | A baker's dozen is 13 (presumably it was customary to throw
in an extra one if you bought 12).
Half-a-dozen is 6, and still in wide use.
But don't expect a modern baker to give you 13 to the dozen. |
Paul Burke |
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apprentice
Guest
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| Posted: Tue Aug 09, 2005 10:01 pm
Post subject: Re: score |
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Thanks a lot.
a score then.
Ok.
Do you know where it comes from? a score?
Paweł
Warsaw, Poland
Użytkownik "Tony Mountifield" <tony@softins.clara.co.uk> napisał w
wiadomości news:ddaci0$a1c$1@softins.clara.co.uk...
| Quote: | In article <57565$42f89757$540aa681$15744@news.chello.pl>,
apprentice <mailpawel@wp.pl> wrote:
Is it true that "score" equals 20?
Yes, but more accurately, "a score" equals 20. It's archaic usage.
Other related archaisms are "threescore" for 60 and "fourscore" for 80,
and in those cases they are not preceded by "a" and are a single word.
Cheers
Tony
--
Tony Mountifield
Work: tony@softins.co.uk - http://www.softins.co.uk
Play: tony@mountifield.org - http://tony.mountifield.org
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John of Aix
Guest
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| Posted: Tue Aug 09, 2005 10:42 pm
Post subject: Re: score |
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Nick Wagg wrote:
| Quote: | "apprentice" <mailpawel@wp.pl> wrote in message
news:57565$42f89757$540aa681$15744@news.chello.pl...
Is it true that "score" equals 20?
A score is 20 but is not often used nowadays, except for
money, in slang.
A gross is 144 but is used only for screws in my experience.
A dozen is 12 (eggs are still nearly always sold by the dozen)
A baker's dozen is 13 (presumably it was customary to throw
in an extra one if you bought 12).
Half-a-dozen is 6, and still in wide use.
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Funnily enough, here in France too, which has been metric for a few
hundred years, eggs are counted in half-dozens, as are oysters and
snails usually. |
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Molly Mockford
Guest
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| Posted: Tue Aug 09, 2005 11:47 pm
Post subject: Re: score |
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At 18:01:44 on Tue, 9 Aug 2005, apprentice <mailpawel@wp.pl> wrote in
<b79ec$42f8d376$540aa681$24746@news.chello.pl>:
| Quote: | Thanks a lot.
a score then.
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Pawel, could I ask you to reply below the quoted text, the way that
other people do? That way everything is in chronological order and is
easier to read. The best way is to delete any of the quoted text to
which you are not specifically replying, and then to type your reply
either at the bottom or, if you are replying to several points, after
each paragraph.
Thanks!
--
Molly Mockford
They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety
deserve neither liberty nor safety - Benjamin Franklin
(My Reply-To address *is* valid, though may not remain so for ever.) |
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Dante Alighieri
Guest
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| Posted: Fri Sep 30, 2005 10:24 pm
Post subject: Re: score |
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Approx. Tue, 9 Aug 2005 13:38:54 +0100, someone calling themselves "Nick Wagg"
<naw@transcendata.com> let their cat run across the keyboard resulting in:
:-)= A baker's dozen is 13
A "Baker's Dozen" was 14 in the auld days - obviously 13 being an unlucky number.
In modern times less superstitious and less for the money it has been changed to 13.
The people who had ten digits counted by tens.
Those who had twelve digits counted by twelves, dozen, a dozen dozen is a gross.
A rare event today it happens about 1 per 100,000 births, twelve digits that is.
Sur La Sainte Bible, it is mentioned twice in the old testament.
The Emims, the children of Anak, had twelve digits and were of height that is common today
but in ancient times they were giants. |
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Dante Alighieri
Guest
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| Posted: Fri Sep 30, 2005 10:32 pm
Post subject: Re: score |
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Approx. Tue, 9 Aug 2005 13:54:08 +0000 (UTC), someone calling themselves tony@softins.clara.co.uk (Tony Mountifield) let their cat run across the
keyboard resulting in:
:-)= Other related archaisms
Modern Times
French quatre-vingts dix = nonante in Swiss French.
for twenties plus ten equals ninety
quatre vingts douze for ninety-two, etc.
Also the French say soixante dix instead of septante.
HTH |
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Dave Fawthrop
Guest
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| Posted: Fri Sep 30, 2005 10:46 pm
Post subject: Re: score |
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On Fri, 30 Sep 2005 18:24:51 +0200, Dante Alighieri
<michel.angelo@heavens.gate> wrote:
| The people who had ten digits counted by tens.
| Those who had twelve digits counted by twelves, dozen, a dozen dozen is a gross.
Those with two hands count in binary 
What do those with one head do ;-)
--
Dave Fawthrop <dave hyphenologist co uk>
The London suicide bombers killed innocent commuters.
Animal rights terrorists and activists kill innocent patients. |
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Molly Mockford
Guest
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| Posted: Fri Sep 30, 2005 11:19 pm
Post subject: Re: score |
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At 18:24:51 on Fri, 30 Sep 2005, Dante Alighieri
<michel.angelo@heavens.gate> wrote in
<1128097482.116add738875ed3995fbc907a794ba21@teranews>:
| Quote: | The Emims, the children of Anak, had twelve digits and were of height
that is common today
but in ancient times they were giants.
|
Presumably one of them was called Tracy...
--
Molly Mockford
They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety
deserve neither liberty nor safety - Benjamin Franklin
(My Reply-To address *is* valid, though may not remain so for ever.) |
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Peter Duncanson
Guest
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| Posted: Sat Oct 01, 2005 5:11 am
Post subject: Re: score |
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On Fri, 30 Sep 2005 17:46:30 +0100, Dave Fawthrop
<invalid@hyphenologist.co.uk.invalid> wrote:
| Quote: | On Fri, 30 Sep 2005 18:24:51 +0200, Dante Alighieri
michel.angelo@heavens.gate> wrote:
| The people who had ten digits counted by tens.
| Those who had twelve digits counted by twelves, dozen, a dozen dozen is a gross.
Those with two hands count in binary
What do those with one head do
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Are those the ones from the Land of Nod ("to the east of Eden")?
--
Peter Duncanson
UK (posting from u.c.l.e) |
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