A quick Trini-ism I learned today: When I called a store and asked what their hours of operation were, I was told, "Half 8 to 5". That threw me, so I asked the woman to repeat herself. Finally I understood that "half 8" was the equivalent of "8:30". It seemed odd to me that it wasn't "half past 8", but just "half 8". I wonder if that stems from the Spanish influence on the language? I didn't retain much from my 4 years of high school Spanish, but I do remember that the "30" mark was an important marker in telling time. If it was before 8:30, it would be 8 plus however minutes past the hour it was. If it was after 8:30, it would be 9 minus however minutes before the hour it was.
I dunno. I'm probably just grasping. But it still seems like an odd construction to simply say "half 8". That feels like it's half of 8 (which would actually be 4), rather than half past 8.
Annnnnd, now I'm going to stop blathering.
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the brits say it that way too. I thought at first that it meant half until eight, like 7:30. so i was early to a lot of things.
ReplyDeleteHah, right? It DID make me think it was 7:30 instead of 8:30! So it's not the Spanish, but the British influence on the language. Huh. Still weird.
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