22 Jun
Posted by: The Stabbing Pen in: Words & Language
The first one has to do with the number 0 (zero). It’s super common that people when speaking will use the letter O in place of the number 0. “What’s your phone number?” It’s five-five-five oh-oh-two-three. “Oh” is a letter, NOT a number. Saying the word zero requires 1 more syllable. Don’t be afraid to say it.
Another often misused word is ton. A ton is a unit of weight equal to 2,000 pounds, NOT a word intended to indicate you have “a lot” of something.
“I have a ton of friends.” Really? What’s that like?
Because I have 1,374 pounds of friends.
2 Responses
Marissa
23|Jun|2009 1I agree with both points. At my job, we reference file numbers and I hate it when in the same file number, someone says “oh” and then says “zero” later in the sequence.
Example: two-five-oh, three-zero-one. Damn w-e-i-r-d-zero-s!
Marissa’s last blog post..In Honor of Those Who Made the Ultimate Sacrifice
Bozzz
23|Jun|2009 2That’s not a lot of friends.
I like the word zero. It needs to be used more often.
Bozzz’s last blog post..Magic 8-Ball
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