to find it annoying when people say 'It's ten of one' instead of 'it's ten to one' in the context of telling the time?

[danglingmodifiersmakemesad]

Am I???

Do they? Never heard that before...

Never heard it but my ex MIL says "It's five and 20 past" I've always found it odd?

I've only heard Americans say that.

They may say 'ten of' and 'ten after'.

10 off one you mean? Yabu a little, I wouldn't say it but it is technically correct.

10 of one then yanbu, that is just weird.

I have never heard that before. Where do you live?

O'clock = of the clock so makes sense I suppose 'shrugs'

Makes me smile when dh who is from Yorkshire says ' 8 while 2' instead of 8 til 2 , when referring to his shift at work :) Doesn't annoy me.

Never heard it and that's a good thing because I wouldn't understand it!

nanas and ancient aunts all say five and twenty past and stuff like that

never heard 10 of/off though?

'It's five and 20 past'
'It's ten of one'

they do raise my blood pressure quite a lot, particualrly the first one

Never heard it

nanas and ancient aunts all say five and twenty past and stuff like that

So true!

Live in London. Just heard an American colleague say it. Grrr! I think it's very much a North American thing. I quite like 'while' though, so clearly not all national/regional differences piss me off!

Oh no, they don't? Shoot them.

I was in Salt Lake City putting together an exhibition. We were there for a couple of weeks.

I had to change the way I spoke, or they'd not understand me at all! Not the accent, the actual phrasing. I said I'd meet someone at 9 to half past.

HALF-PAST???? was the reply... I had to say nine-thirty. So many other things that you just don't think.

Two nations divided by a single language and all that..

Also dispelled the myth that you can't get drunk in a dry state..... #hammered.

at 'shoot them'.

never heard it but I do hate it when people say something starts at one for half past WTF which is it one or half one?

Oh I know! I think it means that e.g. if it's dinner and they ask you to turn up at 7.30 for 8', dinner will be on the table at 8 but you're expected between 7.30 and then in the hope that by 8 everyone will be there. Basically half an hour hanging around with a drink waiting for everyone to assemble.

Never heard that saying but when I lived in Scotland, we used to say 'the back of ten' and when I said it to DH(english) he didnt know what I meant. He thought it was before ten when in fact I meant after ten. Maybe it was just my family though.
Rambling over...

notso, I didn't mean 'I know' as in 'Oooh, I know, I know' in a teacher's pet way (just read it back and it sounds a bit like that . I meant 'Oh, I know, it's annoying isn't it?'

mrsoliver, I used to live in Glasgow and love the 'back of' construction.

dangling now have an image of you using one arm to raise the other one even more in school fashion shouting Miss, Miss, Miss.

Perhaps people give me a range of times in the hope I might actually be early for once

I have never heard this before - obviously not common in NI or in the NE of Scotland.

Up here though (NE Scotland) folk do say "the back of" when they mean "a bit after". ("I'll be with you the back of two") Is that just a local thing to here or have others heard that?

ha ha! Lots of Scottish X-posting going on!

I say 'the back of' all the time .

For example, DS3 has an appointment at the back of 4 today! I'll be going to Brownies at the back of 6, etc.

Isn't ten to ten minutes before the hour and ten of ten minutes after?

eg, ten of two is 2.10.

I've never heard anyone say it

YABU Americans use English differently, shocker.