this post was submitted on 14 Apr 2025
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Time is weird. Even in the same language some people will tell time differently.
In French my parents are used to fractions while I don't. So for me 9:45 is nine hours fourty five but for them it's ten hours minus the quarter.
Wait, what?
Yeah, as in, if you take a quarter of an hour (15 minutes) from 10, it's 9:45.
They also use minus ten, minus twenty or even minus twenty-five.
Ten hours minus twenty-five is 9:35.
Ten hours minus twenty is 9:40.
Ten hours minus (a/the) quarter is 9:45.
Ten hours minus ten is 9:50.
I find it confusing and never got used to this system. It feels old fashioned and it's not even faster to say. But it's still pretty common while being informal.