Hmm. But if I observe that the US writes dates middle endian then no-one will know what I mean.
If, however, I point out that December 8 (as opposed to 8 December) is Just Wrong, I'm probably onto a better thing. December 8 means the 8th (instance of) December, like in Henry VII or Omen III, not the 8th (day of) December.
And if I see "best before January 04" on a US-bought lunch, would that mean it's 5 days out of date or I've got until the end of the month to eat it?
And all you BBC newsreaders: it's 11/9, not 9/11!!
if I observe that the US writes dates middle endian then no-one will know what I mean.
Possibly, but if they're not American they will still somehow instinctively know that it's Just Wrong.
best before January 04
I don't know how Americans write best before dates, but possibly they match our style and write "best before end" if they mean the end of the month. Note that even in British English, "best before January 2004" clearly means that you should finish it up by New Year's Eve 2003, since January is not before January.
In any case, Americans don't generally use "January 04" for the fourth day of January, they use "January 4".
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timeasmymeasure
no subject
Date: 2004-01-09 03:00 am (UTC)If, however, I point out that December 8 (as opposed to 8 December) is Just Wrong, I'm probably onto a better thing. December 8 means the 8th (instance of) December, like in Henry VII or Omen III, not the 8th (day of) December.
And if I see "best before January 04" on a US-bought lunch, would that mean it's 5 days out of date or I've got until the end of the month to eat it?
And all you BBC newsreaders: it's 11/9, not 9/11!!
--
Richard
no subject
Date: 2004-01-09 03:16 am (UTC)if I observe that the US writes dates middle endian then no-one will know what I mean.
Possibly, but if they're not American they will still somehow instinctively know that it's Just Wrong.
best before January 04
I don't know how Americans write best before dates, but possibly they match our style and write "best before end" if they mean the end of the month. Note that even in British English, "best before January 2004" clearly means that you should finish it up by New Year's Eve 2003, since January is not before January.
In any case, Americans don't generally use "January 04" for the fourth day of January, they use "January 4".