When the heck did G replace K for expressing 1000 of something?

Nashemon

Senior member
Jun 14, 2012
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http://www.foxnews.com/tech/2018/06/20/thieves-steal-100g-apple-products-through-best-buy-roof.html

I stumbled across this article on Facebook and was confused by the headline.

Thieves steal $100G of Apple products through Best Buy roof

It's not the first time a group of people have rappelled from a hole cut in the roof of a Best Buy, so I wasn't too shocked by it. What I struggled over was the designation for what was stolen. "$100G." I read the article and see that they used a G to represent 1000. $100,000 was stolen.

I did an Internet search using the popular online search engine Google and it appears many publications have used G to represent 1000 over the years, not just FoxNews, and it's apparently just to represent "grand" meaning $1000. So why use abbreviated American slang to replace something that's been used for a few millennia by the entire world? Particularly if you're still going to put a $ in front of it - It's like saying "One hundred grand dollars" which is just dumb.
 
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lxskllr

No Lifer
Nov 30, 2004
58,560
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I'd agree, but I've never seen that before. If I saw it, I'd assume it was a typo.
 

highland145

Lifer
Oct 12, 2009
43,973
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Before my time but Perk may be familiar.

The use of “grand” to mean “one thousand dollars” does indeed come from American underworld slang, first appearing around 1915.
 

IronWing

No Lifer
Jul 20, 2001
71,357
30,924
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We used G way before we used K and we liked it. Fox is catering to their aged audience and the underworld characters they cover.
 
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shortylickens

No Lifer
Jul 15, 2003
80,287
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theres no such thing as a kilodollar.

The G was for grand, and its been in use for a very long time.

Calling thousands of dollars K dollars is a new thing. You just dont know any better.

Just like the fucking Democrats used to be fucking red and the fucking republicans used to be fucking blue and one day some beautiful being switched them and NOBODY fucking questioned it and now 300 million fucking morons just assume it was always that way.
 

shortylickens

No Lifer
Jul 15, 2003
80,287
17,080
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Isn't "K" a value of 1024? So if thieves stole $100K then the total amount stolen was $102,400. ;)

Only in bytes. Not bits. Or dollars. Or meters. Or really anything EXCEPT bytes. Its because 2 to the 10th power is easier for computers than 10 to the third power.
 
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rh71

No Lifer
Aug 28, 2001
52,844
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They've used Gs in movies for a long time. And we all know what they do or say in movies is always accurate.
 

WelshBloke

Lifer
Jan 12, 2005
32,181
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But no one uses grand and dollars in the same phrase? "One hundred grand dollars" that just sounds wrong.
 

zinfamous

No Lifer
Jul 12, 2006
111,403
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When you have people that get no learning at school, or learn through texting, or are just proudly dumb.

I've seen movie subtitles where the idiot actually uses "U" instead of "You"

It basically comes down to millenials.
 
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zinfamous

No Lifer
Jul 12, 2006
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They've used Gs in movies for a long time. And we all know what they do or say in movies is always accurate.

Yes, it's slang, but it's not proper grammar. It's fine to say it, colloquially, or just in convo, but it isn't acceptable in a professional sense. This so-called journalist wasn't quoting someone; they just don't know how to English. Probably working their way up to USA Today staff. :D
 
Feb 25, 2011
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When you have people that get no learning at school, or learn through texting, or are just proudly dumb.

I've seen movie subtitles where the idiot actually uses "U" instead of "You"

It basically comes down to millenials.
Right... The best educated generation in history with the highest comfort level w/ metric prefixes is surely responsible for an editorial change on a Fox News story, the news network with the oldest audience demographics.
 

zinfamous

No Lifer
Jul 12, 2006
111,403
30,489
146
Right... The best educated generation in history with the highest comfort level w/ metric prefixes is surely responsible for an editorial change on a Fox News story, the news network with the oldest audience demographics.

exactly. It's definitely mellenials. No one else would think "U" is ever acceptable, anywhere. Likewise, "G."
 

lxskllr

No Lifer
Nov 30, 2004
58,560
8,837
126
When you have people that get no learning at school, or learn through texting, or are just proudly dumb.

I've seen movie subtitles where the idiot actually uses "U" instead of "You"

It basically comes down to millenials.
I fucking hate textspeak. Awhile ago, my daughter sent me a text with a textspeak word(forget exactly what), then immediately sent a correction spelled correctly. Made me laugh. I occasionally get one from a client that works construction, and it always startles me. It's kind of expected with a teenage girl, but I expect better from grown men...