Not sucky, just dumb

[Ghengis51]

I overheard this between a father and daughter at my part-time job and it just made me want to cry.

D: What time do you want me to pick them up?
F: About a quarter of.
D: What's that in normal time?
F: (speaking slightly louder and slower) A quarter of.
D: (looking annoyed) Say it normally.
F: (looking exasperated) A quarter of 8
D: What time is that?
F : 7:45

I just . . . wow. 'scuse me while I go in the corner and weep for the future.

[Ilpalazzo]

Wow, I get kids and adults whom can't tell time via analog at my store, this is nothing, glad my parents actually taught such simple stuff as this.

[RammsteinGirl]

LOL, that's funny. To clarify himself, he should have said, "A quarter UNTIL 8:00." The girl still wouldn't have understood though, since she didn't know a "quarter" means 15 minutes.

[Bagga]

I'm sorry. I don't understand who is being stupid in that exchange. The daughter, who couldn't understand what time he was talking about? Or the father, who was using some strange code to indicate the time?

To me, a quarter of 8 might well be 8.15, but I would have double-checked too.

Or maybe it would be 25% of a Spanish coin... 2 pieces of eight joined together.

[ReadyToRetire]

Yeh, I was a bit confused by that, also. I was thinking 8:15.

Technically, though, a quarter of 8 would be 2.

[mariamousie1]

I think "a quarter of" would probably confuse me too, but at least I know what a quarter of 8 means, although I'm used to saying "a quarter TO 8".

[Ghengis51]

At least around around here (East coast United States) quarter of is a rather common way to say 15 of. If it's no used as much in other parts of the country it's possible that's why she didn't know, but the father definately seemed annoyed at her lack of knowledge.

[Bagga]

I still dont get it. 15 of 8 means 8.15? So he was wrong to expect her to understand 7.45?

Or maybe this was a longstanding family trick, where he sometimes says "15 of" (8.15) and sometimes says "15 off" (7.45)??


Weird.

[Gurndigarn]

In most of where I've been (midwest US), that's a common way of saying "fifteen minutes until".

[queenbb]

that quarter till after, ect has always confused me, i still have trouble reading a dial clock too.

[Marxfan]

I, too, used to have the annoying habit of saying "a quarter of" for every time question. I soon realized how obnoxious this was to others (not to mention how stupid it made me look) so I got over it.

Still, I don't get why the girl simply didn't say "Eight".

[Billy_Bam_Wam]

At least around around here (East coast United States) quarter of is a rather common way to say 15 of. If it's no used as much in other parts of the country it's possible that's why she didn't know, but the father definately seemed annoyed at her lack of knowledge.

When I was in college, I had a girlfriend that was from Connecticut (I'm from around the center of the US.) Being in college and living in dorms, finding a time and place to be alone together was rare. One evening, when her roomate had went to a movie, she called me up and told me to come by her room at a "quarter of". That was the first time I had ever heard the time given like that and our conversation was similar to what transpired between the man and his daughter. Nevertheless, we still had a nice time together despite the miscommunication.

[Geek King]

Ohio-type here!

a quarter of the hour: X:45
a quarter past the hour: X:15


Most people say "a quarter til" the hour, but the other is used often enough to be taught when I was in school. I've even seen it in books I read (for fun!).

"And that's one to grow on"

[Imogene]

Quarter von acht. Halb Zehn... Quarter von Acht is 7:45, Halb Zehn is 9:30... Okay, so, it does go the same way in German.

[Andara Bledin]

I suspect that the full phrase would be "quarter of an hour before" and just got chopped to "quarter of" since everyone should have some familiarity with the term.

If I'm talking to someone and the ask the time, I'll say "quarter of 8" if it is, although I'm more likely to say "15 till." But if I'm setting up a meeting or the like I'll always give the absolute, so would say 7:45, not quarter of 8, or even 15 till 8.

^-.-^