# Happy 2008! Now, um, what are we calling this decade? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 1, 2008, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/happy-2008-now-um-what-are-we-calling-this-decade/431933 "2008-01-01T22:46:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![DaveRaver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/daveraver/32/1078_2.png) [@DaveRaver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DaveRaver)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2008, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/happy-2008-now-um-what-are-we-calling-this-decade/431933/1 "2008-01-01T22:46:25Z")
I just thought I’d get an update whether we have all decided what to call this decade. It’s almost over, you know. ---
**Author:** ![Lobsang](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobsang/32/4067_2.png) [@Lobsang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobsang)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2008, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/happy-2008-now-um-what-are-we-calling-this-decade/431933/2 "2008-01-01T22:48:00Z")
The toothousands. ---
**Author:** ![Xema](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/9de053/32.png) [@Xema](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Xema)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2008, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/happy-2008-now-um-what-are-we-calling-this-decade/431933/3 "2008-01-01T22:50:00Z")
[QUOTE=DaveRaver] It’s almost over, you know. [/QUOTE] Doesn’t that mean we can soon stop worrying about this? If we’ve successfully procrastinated for 8 years, another two should be easy. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2008, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/happy-2008-now-um-what-are-we-calling-this-decade/431933/4 "2008-01-01T22:54:37Z")
[QUOTE=DaveRaver] I just thought I’d get an update whether we have all decided what to call this decade. It’s almost over, you know. [/QUOTE] Then what will we call the next decade? I don’t think we’ll be on firm ground until 2020, myself. ---
**Author:** ![Idle\_Thoughts](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/838e76/32.png) [@Idle\_Thoughts](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Idle_Thoughts)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2008, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/happy-2008-now-um-what-are-we-calling-this-decade/431933/5 "2008-01-01T22:55:00Z")
My question is, is 2010 (and later, 2011, 2012, etc) going to be said “Two thousand ten, two thousand eleven, two thousand twelve, etc” or “Twentyten, twentyeleven, twentytwelve, etc”? It should be the latter, I think (as per it being nineteeneightyfour, not one thousand, nine hundred and eighty four)…but I fear people will make it the former. ---
**Author:** ![Lobsang](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobsang/32/4067_2.png) [@Lobsang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobsang)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2008, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/happy-2008-now-um-what-are-we-calling-this-decade/431933/6 "2008-01-01T22:58:45Z")
[QUOTE=Idle Thoughts] My question is, is 2010 (and later, 2011, 2012, etc) going to be said “Two thousand ten, two thousand eleven, two thousand twelve, etc” or “Twentyten, twentyeleven, twentytwelve, etc”? It should be the latter, I think (as per it being nineteeneightyfour, not one thousand, nine hundred and eighty four)…but I fear people will make it the former. [/QUOTE] The former is ok because ‘twothousandten’ is short enough to be viable whereas ‘onethousandninehundredandten’ is less so. ---
**Author:** ![Idle\_Thoughts](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/838e76/32.png) [@Idle\_Thoughts](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Idle_Thoughts)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2008, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/happy-2008-now-um-what-are-we-calling-this-decade/431933/7 "2008-01-01T23:02:42Z")
But we said/say nineteenten. We don’t say “one thousand nine hundred and ten” or “nineteen hundred and ten” We say “nineteenten” and the equivlant of that is “twentyten” The equivlant of “one thousand nine hundred and ten” or “nineteen hundred and ten” (I think) is “two thousand ten”. Just feels/sounds/seems wrong to me. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Ice\_Wolf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/dfb087/32.png) [@Ice\_Wolf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ice_Wolf)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2008, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/happy-2008-now-um-what-are-we-calling-this-decade/431933/8 "2008-01-01T23:39:26Z")
I think the name “two-thousands” will probably win out for the first decade. It’ll probably take a while for something to settle, though. I’m already referring to 2010 as twenty-ten. So are other people. From then on, “twenty” will be the hip prefix. ---
**Author:** ![essell](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/34f0e0/32.png) [@essell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/essell)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2008, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/happy-2008-now-um-what-are-we-calling-this-decade/431933/9 "2008-01-01T23:56:19Z")
I think all the hip kids are calling it the “naughties”. I think. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2008, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/happy-2008-now-um-what-are-we-calling-this-decade/431933/10 "2008-01-01T23:59:06Z")
“The uh-ohs.” Seems to sum it up quite well, so far. ---
**Author:** ![askeptic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/eb9ed0/32.png) [@askeptic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/askeptic)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2008, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/happy-2008-now-um-what-are-we-calling-this-decade/431933/11 "2008-01-02T00:04:52Z")
I was hoping for “The Naughty Naughts” but it hasn’t really panned out… ETA: [Shakes fist at **essell**] I thought I was so clever. ---
**Author:** ![Genericuser234](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/5daacb/32.png) [@Genericuser234](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Genericuser234)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2008, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/happy-2008-now-um-what-are-we-calling-this-decade/431933/12 "2008-01-02T00:06:50Z")
wasnt like 1900-1909 called like ought-one , ought-two. shouldnt the same apply to 2000’s? i probably butchered the reference though. ---
**Author:** ![KGS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/90ced4/32.png) [@KGS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KGS)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2008, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/happy-2008-now-um-what-are-we-calling-this-decade/431933/13 "2008-01-02T00:58:13Z")
I don’t think it will be a problem until the Nostalgia Industry kicks in. You know, all those documentaries about the 50’s & 60’s, shows like “That 70’s Show” or “I Love the 80’s.” Generally speaking, it takes about twenty years for any period in time to become nostalgic, so we’ve got a couple decades before VH1 and Rhino Records start panicking. ---
**Author:** ![An\_Gadai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@An\_Gadai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Gadai)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2008, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/happy-2008-now-um-what-are-we-calling-this-decade/431933/14 "2008-01-02T01:05:58Z")
[QUOTE=essell] I think all the hip kids are calling it the “naughties”. I think. [/QUOTE] Naughties or Noughties are what I’ve seen the years referred to. ---
**Author:** ![Randy\_Seltzer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ee7513/32.png) [@Randy\_Seltzer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Randy_Seltzer)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2008, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/happy-2008-now-um-what-are-we-calling-this-decade/431933/15 "2008-01-02T01:22:30Z")
My great grandmother (1899-2003) claimed that they called the decade 1900-1909 the “aughts.” I doubt it will catch on again. ---
**Author:** ![AdmiralCrunch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/6f9a4e/32.png) [@AdmiralCrunch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AdmiralCrunch)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2008, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/happy-2008-now-um-what-are-we-calling-this-decade/431933/16 "2008-01-02T01:40:31Z")
[The Master’s Word](http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a5_161.html) (kinda). I think it’ll never have a set in stone name, but we’ll all settle on something around the end of 2009 when we have to do a bunch of decade retrospective junk. VH1 will probably be the authority. Here’s to hoping it’s called “I Love the Naughties.” ---
**Author:** ![5\_time\_champ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/5/278dde/32.png) [@5\_time\_champ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/5_time_champ)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2008, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/happy-2008-now-um-what-are-we-calling-this-decade/431933/17 "2008-01-02T02:09:51Z")
[QUOTE=panache45] “The uh-ohs.” Seems to sum it up quite well, so far. [/QUOTE] Yep, the 9-11 terrorists attacks, 8 years of Bush-Cheney, and a war that is lasting longer than America’s involvement in WWII & probably Viet Nam too,-- uh-ohs indeed. I’m thinking now though, that this decade will only get a name well into the next decade. ---
**Author:** ![cmyk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmyk/32/3353_2.png) [@cmyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmyk)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2008, 5:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/happy-2008-now-um-what-are-we-calling-this-decade/431933/18 "2008-01-02T05:04:50Z")
How 'bout Scott? ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2008, 5:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/happy-2008-now-um-what-are-we-calling-this-decade/431933/19 "2008-01-02T05:52:19Z")
[QUOTE=cmyk] How 'bout Scott? [/QUOTE] Hey! What’d we ever do to you? \* 😃 I call it the Zeroes. And I think we’ll be saying things like, “Remember the big blackout back in '03?” with '03 pronounced ‘oh three’. I’ve used ‘twenty fifteen’ for 2015 in conversation and no-one blinked. [sub]\* “Scott” may or may not be real name of poster, or real name of best friend of poster, or family name of poster or best friend of poster, or all of the preceding, or none of the preceding.[/sub] ---
**Author:** ![Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapioca_Dextrin)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2008, 6:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/happy-2008-now-um-what-are-we-calling-this-decade/431933/20 "2008-01-02T06:05:58Z")
Isn’t it the 00’s (pronounced ooze)? 😛 [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/happy-2008-now-um-what-are-we-calling-this-decade/431933.md?page=2)