USA doesn't use 24 hour clock ?

[Quickstatus]

But it would end the daylight saving debate

Definitely it would not. They will just say that Z time just means it is sunny when it is dark , making the curtains fade more.

 

[Forg]

But what does "half two" mean in Australia, please? After all these years here I'm still confused. It seems that some people refer to 1:30 and some to 2:30 with it.

I’ve never heard “half two” as referring to 1:30, unless it’s someone in NSW during summer talking about the time in Queensland.

Half two is just an abbreviation for half-past two, or huppast-two as you hear more frequently. I’ve not heard anyone meaning half an hour until two, I guess there could be oddbods that do that but they’d not be widely understood!

 

[Mattg]

Whatcha saying? That's so easy: "Five past half two" = 1.35 or 13.35, and "five to quarter past two" = 2.10 or 14.10. Similarly, it's half of seventeen...

This thread is giving me flashbacks to when I did Dutch classes a few years back

But what does "half two" mean in Australia, please? After all these years here I'm still confused. It seems that some people refer to 1:30 and some to 2:30 with it.

Totally agree. In my mind, "half two" means 01:30 or 13:30. I think most Australians mean it as 14:30, though?

 

[Brissy1]

And as we've got the time, is midnight the end of the day (before) or the beginning of the day (after). I always thought it was the end of the day, until a telco expired my ph plan the (midnight) before. Writing 24:00 or 00:00 would be clearer to me.

 

[NM]

Totally agree. In my mind, "half two" means 01:30 or 13:30. I think most Australians mean it as 14:30, though?

Certainly my English parents (from up north with strong Geordie accents) would use "arf-two" to mean 2:30 or 14:30.

 

[Forg]

Totally agree. In my mind, "half two" means 01:30 or 13:30. I think most Australians mean it as 14:30, though?

I've not seen this interpretation before, and now at least twice in this thread!

What's the origin/meaning of this interpretation? Abbreviating "halfway to two"?

Whenever I've heard it used, it's been the same as per @NM's parents (except maybe with an Aussie accent ) ... an abbreviation that drops the word "past" out of "half past two".

 

[NM]

Certainly my English parents (from up north with strong Geordie accents) would use "arf-two" to mean 2:30 or 14:30.

I've not seen this interpretation before, and now at least twice in this thread!

What's the origin/meaning of this interpretation? Abbreviating "halfway to two"?

Whenever I've heard it used, it's been the same as per @NM's parents (except maybe with an Aussie accent ) ... an abbreviation that drops the word "past" out of "half past two".

And of course they would say 16:30 as "arf fow-er" (noting that there was never the need to verbalise the time 04:30 in ow-er home).

 

[Mattg]

Certainly my English parents (from up north with strong Geordie accents) would use "arf-two" to mean 2:30 or 14:30.

I've not seen this interpretation before, and now at least twice in this thread!

What's the origin/meaning of this interpretation? Abbreviating "halfway to two"?

I think I see it as "halfway to two" because I'm also a German speaker. In that language (Dutch as well), half two means 1.30.

I always have to double-take when I hear this said in English and think about what the person I'm talking to actually means. If they are English (as in, from the UK) then I assume it to mean 2.30. But that's not what first comes to mind.

I personally just say 1.30 (or write 13:30 if it's the afternoon) to avoid confusion!

 

[NM]

I personally just say 1.30 (or write 13:30 if it's the afternoon) to avoid confusion!

Or 1:50 in metric time

Now, getting back on topic p), perhaps the USA-based check-in agent was someone with whom I had previously discussed metric time and was concerned that an Australian might not properly understand the American time system so hand wrote the boarding time on the pass?

 

[dajop]

And as we've got the time, is midnight the end of the day (before) or the beginning of the day (after). I always thought it was the end of the day, until a telco expired my ph plan the (midnight) before. Writing 24:00 or 00:00 would be clearer to me.

23:59 is a far better option than either 24:00 or 00:00 for expiry of anything. Then there is no doubt.

Many hotel chains specify this as time for cancellation of bookings on a specific day before penalties imposed, kudos to them. And brickbats to those who leave it ambiguous.

And likewise not uncommon to see flight departure times of 23:59 (or less often 00:01) instead of 00:00 for this very reason.

 

[justinbrett]

But what does "half two" mean in Australia, please? After all these years here I'm still confused. It seems that some people refer to 1:30 and some to 2:30 with it.

Definitely 2:30. More of a British phrase, it's just short for half past two.

 

[mrsterryn]

I never knew how time could be.....so different lol

 

[Forg]

I never knew how time could be.....so different lol

Yeah it’s all about perception … ref the 2001 doco Donnie Darko.

 

[justinbrett]

It also comes from the traditional way of saying 1-30 past the hour, and 29-1 minutes to the next hour.

Whilst some people now say 40 minutes past two, and more commonly two forty, traditionally it was always twenty minutes to three (and if it's 15, 30, 45 it's quarter past, half past and quarter to).

 

[ZigZagWanderer]

Whatcha saying? That's so easy: "Five past half two" = 1.35 or 13.35, and "five to quarter past two" = 2.10 or 14.10. Similarly, it's half of seventeen...

But what does "half two" mean in Australia, please? After all these years here I'm still confused. It seems that some people refer to 1:30 and some to 2:30 with it.

In the UK and Australia, 'half two' is half past two.

 

[tdimdad]

I think I see it as "halfway to two" because I'm also a German speaker. In that language (Dutch as well), half two means 1.30.
I always have to double-take when I hear this said in English and think about what the person I'm talking to actually means. If they are English (as in, from the UK) then I assume it to mean 2.30. But that's not what first comes to mind.

Same here, for me "half two" used to mean 'half an hour to two'. Then I moved to this country and got messed up...

 

[tdimdad]

And as we've got the time, is midnight the end of the day (before) or the beginning of the day (after). I always thought it was the end of the day, until a telco expired my ph plan the (midnight) before. Writing 24:00 or 00:00 would be clearer to me.

Oh yes. I grew up with 00.00 - 23.59 so midnight would be the start of a new day. But both the morning and evening parts of a day in English would start on the second minute and continue to the end of 12:00 pm/am. How can you even have 'pm' in your morning (12 pm) or 'am' in the evening (12 am)???

 

[dajop]

Would it be as confusing if it was "half three" or "half seven" ? There's a difference between "Half two" and "Half to"

 

[Forg]

Would it be as confusing if it was "half three" or "half seven" ? There's a difference between "Half two" and "Half to"

I doubt it would make any difference … the confusion’s being caused by the difference in the way the abbreviation developed in German (and Dutch) versus English … in English we’re abbreviating half an hour past the hour, in German they’re abbreviating half an hour to the next hour. It’s a result of literal word-by-word translation rather than translating the phrase.

So not related to to vs two, those words don’t line-up that way in German.

 

[Franky]

Whatcha saying? That's so easy: "Five past half two" = 1.35 or 13.35, and "five to quarter past two" = 2.10 or 14.10. Similarly, it's half of seventeen...

But what does "half two" mean in Australia, please? After all these years here I'm still confused. It seems that some people refer to 1:30 and some to 2:30 with it.

Half two to me means 1430, or if you want, 2.30pm - because nobody would be asking you the time at 0230...