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"Five of Nine" equals what time?

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I had no idea that this was a regional thing before this thread, I say it all the time. Though I have to say I too thought we were talking about Star Trek from the title.
 
Originally posted by: CZroe
Originally posted by: JDub02
more importantly, what about "25 or 6 to 4"??? 😕
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Strange that it would be so specific over such a broad amount of time, but that would be simple: 25 or 6 minutes until 4 o'clock. Are you seriously asking this?
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rofl. do you seriously not know the song?

oh and just for you to keep the tally, i've never heard of it either. but i've only been in the us for 9 years.
 
Originally posted by: LTC8K6
"5 of 9" is just the short version of "5 minutes of 9".

I've lived in the Northeast and in the South and "5 of 9" is a perfectly acceptable way to say what time it is in both areas.

Heard it all of my life. Never had any trouble figuring out what it meant.

Never occurred to me that it could possibly confuse anyone...
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You don't have any trouble BECAUSE you've heard it your whole life.

Is there a reason you don't say "'till", which actually makes sense in English?

When I hear people say "of" in this way, I generally know what they mean after a second or so (since I rarely hear it). However I also assume the person is speaking in a provincial dialect in the same way someone is who says "warsh" for "wash" or "coke" for anything sweet and carbonated.
 
Bump!

We have someone training our CSRs in the call center in Newnan, GA. She just caused a *lot* of confusion by telling everyone to return from break at "XX of XX:XX" because absolutely no one knew what she was saying.
 
Wow.

I have NEVER heard anyone say "five of nine". I wouldn't have any idea what it meant either since it's never been said, and is not common anywhere I've ever lived.
 
Numenorean said:
Wow.

I have NEVER heard anyone say "five of nine". I wouldn't have any idea what it meant either since it's never been said, and is not common anywhere I've ever lived.
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It's a British thing I think. I've never heard anyone outside my parents use it and whenever I use it I get strange looks too, though most get the time I'm conveying.
 
I've certainly heard the usage, and I understand its meaning, but it still seems to make more sense that "5 of 9" would mean "5 minutes into the 9th hour" or "of the 9th hour, 5 minutes have elapsed."

Just mai too sense.
 
I've heard the term all my life. While it's perhaps not the most common way of expressing time, it's still common enough that I hear it occasionally nowadays...but mostly by older people who grew up using analog clocks instead of digital.
 
Numenorean said:
Wow.

I have NEVER heard anyone say "five of nine". I wouldn't have any idea what it meant either since it's never been said, and is not common anywhere I've ever lived.
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The problem is that, some people grew up using it in a particular area of the country where it's commonly used. These people assume EVERYONE does it that way. Somehow, they are are 100% certain that it's universally understood, but it's not. A lot of us have simply never heard it that way.

I didn't hear about this way of stating the time until the OP discussed it with me a couple years ago.
 
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crownjules said:
It's a British thing I think. I've never heard anyone outside my parents use it and whenever I use it I get strange looks too, though most get the time I'm conveying.
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No... British people say 5 to 9 (for 8:55).

I have never heard of 5 of 9.

*Surprised no-one made a joke that it was 7 of 9's older sister...*
 
posting in a necro thread

no I have never heard it used, although I have heard of it. If someone told me I would ask for clarification because it doesn't make any sense.

Even though it seems like it's generally understood to mean "5 minutes til 9," I'd still ask because it's ambiguous and not everyone necessarily understands it the same.
 
zerocool1 said:
what about noon-thirty?
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yay bumping old thread to say I've said this before 😀
Doesn't work with "midnight thirty" because it's too many syllables

This thread reminds me of how newfies say "where's he to" when asking about a person's current location.
 
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ShawnD1 said:
yay bumping old thread to say I've said this before 😀
Doesn't work with "midnight thirty" because it's too many syllables

This thread reminds me of how newfies say "where's he to" when asking about a person's current location.
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How about "beer-thirty?"
 
Umm, for those saying this is the dominate idion usage to tell time in the US, I seriously beg to differ. As a military brat, being in the military and being all over the place I have only heard this term once in new york. Here's a list of the states I've been to either to live or extended stays just for reference.

Hawaii
California
Wyoming
Utah
Colorado
Arizona
New Mexico
Kansas
Oklahoma
Texas
Louisiana
Missouri
Arkansas
Tennessee
Kentucky
Florida
North Carolina
South Carolina
New York


I have quote a bit of family spread through out these states as well. I have heard quite a few strange idioms and colloquialisms. The way of expressing time in reference using an hour and minute using the term "of" is hardly common any the majority of the USA I've been to. I've also met people, travelers, from all places in the US in my time.

So I can see why the OP would get confused by the term.
 
JujuFish said:
This thread is still going on? Amazing.
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This.

Ichinisan said:
The problem is that, some people grew up using it in a particular area of the country where it's commonly used. These people assume EVERYONE does it that way. Somehow, they are are 100% certain that it's universally understood, but it's not. A lot of us have simply never heard it that way.

I didn't hear about this way of stating the time until the OP discussed it with me a couple years ago.
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It's not just that. They also think it's self explanatory, as if "of" = "to" in the English language. Some in this thread even tried to explain it by pointing out that "O'clock" means "of the clock," but that still doesn't explain how one who has ever heard it would know that it means x "before" x. A quarter "of" the way to your destination references the distance/time elapsed, not the distance/time remaining to complete, so "of" does not inherently mean what they think it does.
 
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