I'm still mad at the English for degenerating "half past six" into "half six" in direct contravention of every other Germanic language.https://twitter.com/jasnell/status/1104801549522354176 …
Actually I think the Romans were on your side... VS - "five [and a] half" - 5.5 SV - "half five" - 4.5
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*Romance* not Roman: in the Romance languages, the 'half' is additive, not subtractive. This is where English differs from the other Germanic languages, and why 'half past X' became 'half X'.
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It wouldn't be proper English if you couldn't blame the French.
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Illi sunt prudentibus.
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