You better get it exactly right! UGH! (Longish)

[Estil]

What? You mean you don't keep a micrometer handy? You are a terrible deli worker.

But yeah, I agree with the others that if you could have actually measured it, it wouldn't have been what he wanted anyway.

A micrometer is 1000th of a millimeter...good luck trying to slice that thin!

[Chromatix]

A micrometer is also a tool for measuring thicknesses very precisely. It is used when the measurement - or the tolerance therein - is likely to be in micrometres. (Note the subtle difference in spelling.)

[Draco]

A micrometer is also a tool for measuring thicknesses very precisely. It is used when the measurement - or the tolerance therein - is likely to be in micrometres. (Note the subtle difference in spelling.)

We Americans spell meter the same way in both examples. :P

[Argabarga]

Whenever I get a deli sandwich and they ask "Half or quarters?" I usually say "Half, or as close to it as you can get, I'm not going to break out the ruler"

I always suspected that deep down some dank hole somewhere lived a person who WOULD take issue if it wasn't EXACTLY in half, but never to such precision....... I shoulda known better, that the vilest person I can think of still pales to the real world version

[It's me]

Reminds me of the 11" footlong sub kerfuffle....

http://www.google.ca/search?q=11+inc...subway+scandal

[freespirit114]

Ah yes, people's minds who dive into the gutter as quick as mine! Love it!

We give our sc's nicknames based on why they suck. So this guy goes down in Sc history as 1/10th of an inch guy. He must be so proud!

[JustShootMe]

Ah yes, people's minds who dive into the gutter as quick as mine! Love it!

We give our sc's nicknames based on why they suck. So this guy goes down in Sc history as 1/10th of an inch guy. He must be so proud!

See...you're being nice. I'm not so subtle & would have to refer to him as MicroDick. But that's just how I roll.

[manybellsdown]

Sheesh, you'd you'd think we were a straggle of customers here... Didn't anyone read that big sign?

The one headlined "Rule #1"?

You know, I've figured out what Rule #1 is from context, but I've never actually been able to find where it's written.

[Jay 2K Winger]

See...you're being nice. I'm not so subtle & would have to refer to him as MicroDick. But that's just how I roll.

See...you're being nice. I'm not so subtle & would have to refer to him as NanoDick. But that's just how I roll.

[mathnerd]

A micrometer is 1000th of a millimeter...good luck trying to slice that thin!

A micrometer is also a tool for measuring thicknesses very precisely. It is used when the measurement - or the tolerance therein - is likely to be in micrometres. (Note the subtle difference in spelling.)

It's also pronounced differently. When referring to the tool, the "o" and the first "e" vowels are short, where they are long when referring to the unit of measure. There are also differences in which syllables are stressed, but not being a linguist, I'm not sure how to type it out to explain.

[Jay 2K Winger]

It's also pronounced differently. When referring to the tool, the "o" and the first "e" vowels are short, where they are long when referring to the unit of measure. There are also differences in which syllables are stressed, but not being a linguist, I'm not sure how to type it out to explain.

Pronounced "Micro-meter" - the measurement
Pronounced "Mi-CROM-eter" - the tool

[mathnerd]

Thanks. My ear is funny sometimes. It knows there's a difference, but I can't quite explain which syllable is stressed. I thought about calling a friend who's a linguist, but decided I didn't want to bother her.

[Chromatix]

micrometer 1 |mīˈkrämətər| (also micrometer caliper)
noun
a gauge that measures small distances or thicknesses...

micrometer 2 |ˈmīkrōˈmētər| (abbr.: μm)
noun
one millionth of a meter.

micrometre
noun
British spelling of micrometer 2 .

So yes, the dictionary does corroborate the differences in pronunciation and stress. More intuitively they could be written:

my-KROW-meh-tur
MY-kruh-MEE-tur

[mhkohne]

That is NOT a micrometer. That is a dial caliper. A generally very useful device, but generally not as fine a measuring device as a micrometer.

See the wikipedia article at http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Micrometer for pics of a micrometer.

[raudf]

The guy is not smarter than a 6th grader. The guy is assuming that the bigger the bottom number, the bigger the slice.

I shall dub the next guy of this type, "Particle Man." All 'cause he doesn't make a particle of sense and doesn't have a particle of a clue.

And now you can't get that song out of your head You're welcome!