1909

[Jonathan Lighter]

I don't think my grandparents used this form either but can't say
absolutely.  Too formal.

JL

On Sat, Jan 16, 2010 at 4:17 AM, Victor Steinbok <aardvark66 at gmail.com>wrote:

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> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       Victor Steinbok <aardvark66 at GMAIL.COM>
> Subject:      Re: =?ISO-8859-1?Q?=A0_=A0_=A0_Re=3A_=5BADS-L=5D_1909?=
>
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> One expression I have not seen mentioned yet is one that is highly
> unlikely for this century--"nineteen hundred and six", which is
> something we hear on occasion in period films. Is there any reason to
> believe that this was at all common? This is certainly the preferred
> expression in legal and legislative documents, but did anyone actually
> *say* it in normal speech? A quick GB scan lists 68 hits between 1890
> and 1900 for "nineteen hundred and six" and all but five are either
> legal or legislative documents or formal documents in proceedings of
> organizations. The remaining 5 do not refer to years.
>
> There are a few printed documents with "nineteen and six", including
> http://bit.ly/4ReLFi
> http://bit.ly/5XYSYb
>
> The latter document, which appears to be some records of a city council,
> also has "nineteen hundred and nine" only a page earlier. There are
> more, but I am just listing a couple of examples.
>
> There are also four hits for the "year nineteen six". Straight search
> for "nineteen six" generates too much noise, but restricting it yields a
> result.
> http://bit.ly/8VZglK
> http://bit.ly/8DUtEO
> http://bit.ly/4tnrEX
> http://bit.ly/6IPqYZ
>
> I also found six total links to "nineteen-o-six" (three different
> printings of the same story, identifying champagne vintage), "nineteen-o
> six" (two identical references in Punch to port vintage) and "nineteen
> o'six". There is no doubt with any of these that they identify years as
> five refer to vintages and the remaining was written on the occasion of
> New Year's Day, 1907, and refers to both "nineteen o'six" and "nineteen
> o'seven".
>
> There is also one for "nineteen ought six", published, apparently, in 1929.
> http://bit.ly/5ueBHB
>
> Finally, there is one appearance of "nineteen naught six" (two copies,
> published in 1904).
> http://bit.ly/4L1dgI
> http://bit.ly/5dRAbM
>
> Again, there is no doubt that this one refers to a year, as it occurs in
> a reference to getting together for the next convention in Milwaukee in
> "nineteen naught six".
>
> There are actually more raw hits in each case, but the remaining ones
> are unverifiable. I made no attempts to look for similar constructs for
> other years, but I have little doubt of similar distributions.
>
>     VS-)
>
> On 1/16/2010 3:06 AM, Paul Johnston wrote:
> > I certainly heard old codgers when I was growing up in Illinois
> > saying "Nineteen Ought Six."(known as the year of the All-Chicago
> > World Series)  My East Coast-born dad, who was born in that year,
> > always said "Nineteen Oh Six" though, which is what I say too.  I
> > think my grandmother, East Coast also, born in 1879, may have used
> > the form "nineteen six", however.
> >
> > Paul Johnston
>
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