"and" in numerical expressions (UNCLASSIFIED)

[Laurence Horn]

At 2:55 PM -0400 5/13/09, Joel S. Berson wrote:
>At 5/13/2009 02:01 PM, Mullins, Bill AMRDEC wrote:
>
>>One instance in which the "and" is useful, but not required, is in
>>verbally counting off seconds, as you would when timing the distance to
>>a lightning strike (time between the flash and the thunder):
>>One thousand and one
>>One thousand and two
>>One thousand and three . . .
>>Etc.
>
>I do this without "and"s:
>One hippopotamus
>Two hippopotamus
>Three hippopotamus
>Etc.
>
Hmmm.  We always did it with "One Mississippi, Two Mississippi,...",
which like "one thousand and one" has 5 syllables.  But "one
hippopotamus" has 6.  Did you just say it more quickly?  Sure it
wasn't "One rhinoceros, two rhinoceros,..."?

LH

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