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Five and twenty past

66 replies

PrincessHoneysuckle · 21/05/2020 15:17

Does anyone else say this meaning 24 past the hour? My dad is the only person I know who uses this term and hes 67

OP posts:
unappreciativeoh · 21/05/2020 15:19

Never heard of it

Cherryblossomandcornflakes · 21/05/2020 15:21

My Nana used to say this! (North East England)

MadisonAvenue · 21/05/2020 15:22

My parents say it, as well as five and twenty to for 25 minutes to the hour. They’re both in their 80s.

PrincessHoneysuckle · 21/05/2020 15:25

We are south Yorkshire

OP posts:
Tollergirl · 21/05/2020 15:25

Ahh - reminds me of my lovely dad who died 17 years ago - think it must be a generational thing - he would have been 83 this year. Never heard anyone else saying it, certainly not lately- but brings back fond memories- he was a Londoner so not sure if it was a geographical thing?

LoseLooseLucy · 21/05/2020 15:26

Heard it for the first time ever last month funnily.

CarolefeckinBaskin · 21/05/2020 15:27

I'm North East England.
Never heard anyone use it.

Katinski · 21/05/2020 15:29

My parents used to.Smile
And my mum, usually in the context of someone's who's died, would say "it happened two weeks ago last Thursday" or something similar" wtfShock

Justtheoneplease · 21/05/2020 15:39

My mum always says it, from north London

WatcherintheRye · 21/05/2020 15:40

And my mum, usually in the context of someone's who's died, would say "it happened two weeks ago last Thursday"

What's wrong with that? I would say that when referencing something which happened, well....two weeks ago last Thursday! (Presuming I wasn't speaking on a Thursday, in which case I would obviously say '3 weeks ago') Grin

Just out of interest what would you say?

nitgel · 21/05/2020 15:42

My mum who would have been 90 said it, also Friday week etc

Walkingthedog46 · 21/05/2020 15:44

I’m from Yorkshire and it was quite common in the 50s-60s

Katinski · 21/05/2020 15:47

What would I say? Possibly something like 'about 2-3 weeks ago. The 25th, or whatever', is what..

RainMustFall · 21/05/2020 15:51

I say it - it means twenty five minutes past the hour.

BissueTox · 21/05/2020 16:50

My grandad would say it. It's delightfully old fashioned.

spiderlight · 21/05/2020 16:52

My mum and her Welsh-speaking family used to say it. In their case it was a direct transposition from the Welsh word order 'pum munud a'r ugain wedi'.

golddustwomen · 21/05/2020 16:57

Both sets of grandad parents use it. West mids.

golddustwomen · 21/05/2020 16:58

Grandad parents ?!?! Grandparents Grin

Mollythepoodle · 21/05/2020 16:59

Both my grandparents said this. One from Manchester and one from Kent.

DeltaFlyer · 21/05/2020 17:02

Mil says this. West Yorkshire
Im from north Yorkshire and I'd never heard it until I met her. Only 18 miles away and it didn't travel

Elieza · 21/05/2020 17:07

Could it be from the bible?

I know it says about the lifespan of a man being three score and ten years (A score is 20 ie a mans life is 70 years)

magimedi · 21/05/2020 17:17

Four and twenty blackbirds baked in a pie......................

Khione · 21/05/2020 17:20

Also south yorkshire.

Used to hear it in my youth (60s now) but not heard it for a long time.

Zisforstripyoss · 21/05/2020 17:21

My DGran used to say it! Sometimes my DMum does, but not often. We're Brummies.

CatteStreet · 21/05/2020 17:23

It's how German still does numbers.

I remember at Brownies playing a counting game where you counted to 90 in song and when you got to 20/50/80 sang the next ten that way. 'One and twenty, two and twenty, three and four and five and six and twenty...'