What is the shelf life of decade names?
Here is a sentence from a book published in 1970 in Britain.
Ernest Bramah Smith ... was probably born in 1869 (it is curious that only two writers represented in this collection were not born in the sixties) and died in 1942.
And another, less remarkable one from a book published in 1957:
Studies of the ætiology of cholera showed that water so filtered was much less likely to transmit the disease and the process was put on scientific basis in the 'seventies and 'eighties when the rôle of bacteria...
Now this being the year 2019, most would be comfortable referring to the 1920's as simply the twenties. My question is how long, in general, can a decade 100 years old or older be called by its short name. I'd be interested in attestations of short-hand decade names for decades more than 100 years old.
phrase-usage
asked 11 hours ago
jlovegren
11.9k12143
add a comment |
Here is a sentence from a book published in 1970 in Britain.
Ernest Bramah Smith ... was probably born in 1869 (it is curious that only two writers represented in this collection were not born in the sixties) and died in 1942.
And another, less remarkable one from a book published in 1957:
Studies of the ætiology of cholera showed that water so filtered was much less likely to transmit the disease and the process was put on scientific basis in the 'seventies and 'eighties when the rôle of bacteria...
Now this being the year 2019, most would be comfortable referring to the 1920's as simply the twenties. My question is how long, in general, can a decade 100 years old or older be called by its short name. I'd be interested in attestations of short-hand decade names for decades more than 100 years old.
phrase-usage
asked 11 hours ago
jlovegren
11.9k12143
2
It depends on context.
– Hot Licks
11 hours ago
add a comment |
Here is a sentence from a book published in 1970 in Britain.
Ernest Bramah Smith ... was probably born in 1869 (it is curious that only two writers represented in this collection were not born in the sixties) and died in 1942.
And another, less remarkable one from a book published in 1957:
Studies of the ætiology of cholera showed that water so filtered was much less likely to transmit the disease and the process was put on scientific basis in the 'seventies and 'eighties when the rôle of bacteria...
Now this being the year 2019, most would be comfortable referring to the 1920's as simply the twenties. My question is how long, in general, can a decade 100 years old or older be called by its short name. I'd be interested in attestations of short-hand decade names for decades more than 100 years old.
phrase-usage
asked 11 hours ago
jlovegren
11.9k12143
Here is a sentence from a book published in 1970 in Britain.
Ernest Bramah Smith ... was probably born in 1869 (it is curious that only two writers represented in this collection were not born in the sixties) and died in 1942.
And another, less remarkable one from a book published in 1957:
Studies of the ætiology of cholera showed that water so filtered was much less likely to transmit the disease and the process was put on scientific basis in the 'seventies and 'eighties when the rôle of bacteria...
Now this being the year 2019, most would be comfortable referring to the 1920's as simply the twenties. My question is how long, in general, can a decade 100 years old or older be called by its short name. I'd be interested in attestations of short-hand decade names for decades more than 100 years old.
phrase-usage
phrase-usage
asked 11 hours ago
jlovegren
11.9k12143
asked 11 hours ago
jlovegren
11.9k12143
asked 11 hours ago
jlovegren
11.9k12143
asked 11 hours ago
jlovegren
11.9k12143
asked 11 hours ago
jlovegren
11.9k12143
11.9k12143
2
It depends on context.
– Hot Licks
11 hours ago
add a comment |
2
It depends on context.
– Hot Licks
11 hours ago
2
2
It depends on context.
– Hot Licks
11 hours ago
It depends on context.
– Hot Licks
11 hours ago
add a comment |
1 Answer
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This isn't precisely what you're requesting, but it does illustrate an example where (as Hot Licks commented) context makes the reference clear. In 1964, Bruce Simonds published a science fiction short story called "The Search." It was basically a humorous satire, supplying -- from the perspective of the year 2047 -- a history of the all-too-successful advances made in robotics.
The opening lines of the poem read,
The first robots were pretty shoddy
Back in the Seventies.
Bearing in mind that this story first appeared in 1964, the phrase "...back in the Seventies" could possibly be misunderstood as the 1870s. But the context -- i.e. its appearance in a science fiction magazine -- along with the content that follows, makes it clear to most any reader that this means the 1970s.
Similarly, if (say) an author were discussing events that took place in the 1700s, and used the phrase "...by the fifties..." in the course of that discussion, this would be understood as meaning the 1750s.
answered 10 hours ago
JDM-GBG
656118
add a comment |
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1 Answer
1
active
oldest
votes
1 Answer
1
active
oldest
votes
active
oldest
votes
active
oldest
votes
This isn't precisely what you're requesting, but it does illustrate an example where (as Hot Licks commented) context makes the reference clear. In 1964, Bruce Simonds published a science fiction short story called "The Search." It was basically a humorous satire, supplying -- from the perspective of the year 2047 -- a history of the all-too-successful advances made in robotics.
The opening lines of the poem read,
The first robots were pretty shoddy
Back in the Seventies.
Bearing in mind that this story first appeared in 1964, the phrase "...back in the Seventies" could possibly be misunderstood as the 1870s. But the context -- i.e. its appearance in a science fiction magazine -- along with the content that follows, makes it clear to most any reader that this means the 1970s.
Similarly, if (say) an author were discussing events that took place in the 1700s, and used the phrase "...by the fifties..." in the course of that discussion, this would be understood as meaning the 1750s.
answered 10 hours ago
JDM-GBG
656118
add a comment |
This isn't precisely what you're requesting, but it does illustrate an example where (as Hot Licks commented) context makes the reference clear. In 1964, Bruce Simonds published a science fiction short story called "The Search." It was basically a humorous satire, supplying -- from the perspective of the year 2047 -- a history of the all-too-successful advances made in robotics.
The opening lines of the poem read,
The first robots were pretty shoddy
Back in the Seventies.
Bearing in mind that this story first appeared in 1964, the phrase "...back in the Seventies" could possibly be misunderstood as the 1870s. But the context -- i.e. its appearance in a science fiction magazine -- along with the content that follows, makes it clear to most any reader that this means the 1970s.
Similarly, if (say) an author were discussing events that took place in the 1700s, and used the phrase "...by the fifties..." in the course of that discussion, this would be understood as meaning the 1750s.
answered 10 hours ago
JDM-GBG
656118
add a comment |
This isn't precisely what you're requesting, but it does illustrate an example where (as Hot Licks commented) context makes the reference clear. In 1964, Bruce Simonds published a science fiction short story called "The Search." It was basically a humorous satire, supplying -- from the perspective of the year 2047 -- a history of the all-too-successful advances made in robotics.
The opening lines of the poem read,
The first robots were pretty shoddy
Back in the Seventies.
Bearing in mind that this story first appeared in 1964, the phrase "...back in the Seventies" could possibly be misunderstood as the 1870s. But the context -- i.e. its appearance in a science fiction magazine -- along with the content that follows, makes it clear to most any reader that this means the 1970s.
Similarly, if (say) an author were discussing events that took place in the 1700s, and used the phrase "...by the fifties..." in the course of that discussion, this would be understood as meaning the 1750s.
answered 10 hours ago
JDM-GBG
656118
This isn't precisely what you're requesting, but it does illustrate an example where (as Hot Licks commented) context makes the reference clear. In 1964, Bruce Simonds published a science fiction short story called "The Search." It was basically a humorous satire, supplying -- from the perspective of the year 2047 -- a history of the all-too-successful advances made in robotics.
The opening lines of the poem read,
The first robots were pretty shoddy
Back in the Seventies.
Bearing in mind that this story first appeared in 1964, the phrase "...back in the Seventies" could possibly be misunderstood as the 1870s. But the context -- i.e. its appearance in a science fiction magazine -- along with the content that follows, makes it clear to most any reader that this means the 1970s.
Similarly, if (say) an author were discussing events that took place in the 1700s, and used the phrase "...by the fifties..." in the course of that discussion, this would be understood as meaning the 1750s.
answered 10 hours ago
JDM-GBG
656118
answered 10 hours ago
JDM-GBG
656118
answered 10 hours ago
JDM-GBG
656118
answered 10 hours ago
JDM-GBG
656118
656118
add a comment |
add a comment |
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2
It depends on context.
– Hot Licks
11 hours ago