# How do YOU pronounce 00's? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [July 13, 2003, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-00s/188159 "2003-07-13T15:16:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![acrossthesea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/838e76/32.png) [@acrossthesea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/acrossthesea)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2003, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-00s/188159/1 "2003-07-13T15:16:41Z")
Most decades have obvious pronunciations. The 90’s is “the nineties”, not the “nine-oh’s”, and the same goes for every other decade ina century, even the 10’s would be called the “teens” most usually I would guess. But for decades like the one we’re currently in, there seems to be no OFFICIAL pronunciation. At least, for the last 3 years I haven’t heard one. In fact I haven’t ever heard anyone say it outloud at all! So what’s your personal preference? “The oh’s”? “The double oh’s”? The “oh ohs”? The “two thousands”? I guess I think of it as the “ohs”. It sounds less awkward or cheesy to me as some of the others. ---
**Author:** ![TVGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/82dd89/32.png) [@TVGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TVGuy)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2003, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-00s/188159/2 "2003-07-13T15:24:32Z")
I guess referring to this decade in normal daily conversation as something like … “The Opening Decade of the Mysterious and Ever Anticipated Twenty First Century, Post Y-2-K” …is right out? ---
**Author:** ![Avenger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9de0a6/32.png) [@Avenger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Avenger)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2003, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-00s/188159/3 "2003-07-13T15:24:41Z")
I’ve heard “the noughties” used a lot. ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2003, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-00s/188159/4 "2003-07-13T15:31:22Z")
I haven’t heard it either, but when compared with the 1900’s (first decade anyway), I seem to recall my grandparents and parents refer to them as the “aughts” (synonymous with “naughts” for some reason) or the “oh’s.” It’s even interesting to hear how car model years are referred to in ads. “Oh-3” or Two-thousand-three" seem to dominate in this area. It’s like, “back in aught-6 we were hiking to school…” ---
**Author:** ![AngelicGemma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/439d5e/32.png) [@AngelicGemma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AngelicGemma)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2003, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-00s/188159/5 "2003-07-13T16:15:35Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Avenger \* > \*\*I’ve heard “the noughties” used a lot. \*\* Same here. ---
**Author:** ![Ladyrose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Ladyrose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ladyrose)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2003, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-00s/188159/6 "2003-07-13T18:02:42Z")
**Since everything is in such a total mess,…** I think that they should be called th “Uh oh’s” years… LOL ---
**Author:** ![biqu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7feea3/32.png) [@biqu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/biqu)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2003, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-00s/188159/7 "2003-07-13T20:01:47Z")
**The Master Speaks** [What will they call the class of 2000?](http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a5_160.html) [What did people in the 1900s call the decade in which they lived?](http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a5_161.html) [What will the first decade of the 21st century be called?](http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a2_263b.html) ---
**Author:** ![Balance](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ccd318/32.png) [@Balance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balance)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2003, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-00s/188159/8 "2003-07-13T20:19:58Z")
I often use “aught-” and “aughts”, but then I’m prone to somewhat fanciful and archaic speech. I use “oh-” around people likely to be confused by interesting terminology. ---
**Author:** ![biqu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7feea3/32.png) [@biqu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/biqu)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2003, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-00s/188159/9 "2003-07-13T21:09:02Z")
**Balance** Read the Teeming Millions response to Cecil’s column on [What will they call the class of 2000?](http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a5_160.html) > [@](#): > > Dear Cecil: > > Regarding the question of what to say when the calendarometer turns over to two-triple-naught. let me say this: one ought not to say “aught”! Aught actually means “all” or “anything,” as in, “For aught we know, everyone may have gone mad.” The popular sense of aught as used to mean “zero” is actually self-contradictory (as aught means “something,” and zero means “nothing”), and all sensible people ought to drop it politely from use. This error was promulgated by people who heard someone say “nineteen naught eight” (1908) and mentally registered the wrong word. The only really correct word to use for buckshot graded as “0-0” is “double-naught buck,” not “double-aught,” see? --Eric Palmquist, Mountain View, California ---
**Author:** ![Wearia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/13edae/32.png) [@Wearia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wearia)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2003, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-00s/188159/10 "2003-07-13T21:14:17Z")
hundies ---
**Author:** ![Balance](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ccd318/32.png) [@Balance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balance)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2003, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-00s/188159/11 "2003-07-13T21:31:25Z")
Ah, but you see, **amore** , annoying pedants like the honorable Mr. Palmquist is one of the great joys in life. Regardless of its original meaning, the word “aught” has acquired a meaning of “zero” in common usage, while “naught” has largely faded from the scene (excepting such phrases as “came to naught”, which I and about three other people still use occasionally). Language evolves, and if a given mutation doesn’t personally annoy me (such as the pernicious misuse of “hacker”), I generally go along with it. Besides, you would have us calling this decade the “naughty-naughties”, and what good could possibly come of that? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2003, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-00s/188159/12 "2003-07-13T21:43:54Z")
**Balance** , I agree with you on the “aught” thing. Apparently so does [Merriam-Webster](http://www.m-w.com/cgi-bin/dictionary) where one can find: 3 entries found for aught. To select an entry, click on it. aught[1,pronoun]aught[2,adverb]aught[3,noun] Main Entry: 3 aught Function: noun Etymology: alteration (resulting from false division of a naught) of naught Date: 1872 1 : ZERO, CIPHER 2 archaic : NONENTITY, NOTHING ---
**Author:** ![biqu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7feea3/32.png) [@biqu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/biqu)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2003, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-00s/188159/13 "2003-07-13T21:59:02Z")
> [@](#): > > _Originally posted by Balance_ > “naught” has largely faded from the scene . . . The mathematicians don’t seem to have gotten the message. (but since when have they been early adopters of language/style change?) Calculus instructors will continue to define the derivative thus: > [@](#): > > the derivative of f at x-nought is defined as the limit as x approaches x-nought of the difference quotient ( f(x) minus f(x-nought) ) over ( x minus x-nought ) and set theorists will continue to laugh at the joke that the longest mathematical song is “Aleph-nought bottles of beer on the wall” – long after the general population ceases to use the word naught. ---
**Author:** ![MysteryFellow63427](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a88e4f/32.png) [@MysteryFellow63427](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MysteryFellow63427)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2003, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-00s/188159/14 "2003-07-13T22:04:18Z")
Sidestep the problem by using “the twenty-first century.” ---
**Author:** ![biqu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7feea3/32.png) [@biqu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/biqu)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2003, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-00s/188159/15 "2003-07-13T22:16:27Z")
> [@](#): > > _Originally posted by Zeldar_ > Balance, I agree with you on the “aught” thing. Apparently so does Merriam-Webster where one can find: The first definition I got from M-W was: Main Entry: 1 aught Function: pronoun Etymology: Middle English, from Old English Awiht, from A ever + wiht creature, thing – more at AYE, WIGHT Date: before 12th century 1 : ANYTHING 2 : ALL, EVERYTHING \ \ I had to click the link to the third definition in order to find what you quoted. ---
**Author:** ![Ephemera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8baadc/32.png) [@Ephemera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ephemera)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2003, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-00s/188159/16 "2003-07-13T22:26:21Z")
I usually use “the twenty first century”, “the new millenium”, or “the turn of the century” but the only time I ever use them is when I’m saying something like “This is the \_\_\_\_\_, what do you mean \_\_\_\_\_ can’t \_\_\_\_\_?” to some decidely conservative friend ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2003, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-00s/188159/17 "2003-07-13T22:28:25Z")
**amore ac studio** , I should have mentioned that, I guess. To me the main point is that _both_ aught and naught (also spelled nought) are “correct” if the dictionary is to be appealed to. I think **Balance** ’s point that usages are what drive dictionaries, and not vice versa, is what I subscribe to – in principle. Some things are labeled as “sub-standard” or “archaic” or “obsolete” or even “regional” but the better dictionaries do acknowledge the lack of universality of some words and their spellings and pronunciations. Please note that I didn’t say you were wrong. But neither is **Balance** and since **Balance** is from the same (roughly) geographical background that I am, I just favor the usage in **Balance** ’s post. Variety is the spice of life and there are at least 57 varieties. ---
**Author:** ![Balance](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ccd318/32.png) [@Balance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balance)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2003, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-00s/188159/18 "2003-07-13T22:39:54Z")
Thank you for the support, **Zeldar**. You are quite correct; I think that usage does (and should) drive dictionaries rather than the other way around. Flexibility is essential if a language is to remain useful; a language that no longer changes is called a “dead language”. **amore** , mathematical jargon–like all jargons–has its own vocabulary. It has little to do with standard usage. Indeed, words that have changed meaning drastically or faded from use can be helpful in determining the origins of jargons and other dialects. You are, of course, free to use “aught” in any manner you like. However, you should be prepared to be misunderstood from time to time if you use it to mean “all”, even though your usage is technically correct. Now, shall we dispense with the hijack? ---
**Author:** ![biqu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7feea3/32.png) [@biqu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/biqu)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2003, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-00s/188159/19 "2003-07-14T00:48:36Z")
So far my contributions to this thread have consisted of other people’s opinions, such as those of Cecil Adams, Eric Palmquist, mathematicians, and the editorial staff at Merriam-Webster. I do not personally advocate any of their views whole-heartedly. I agree that some parties seem to be stuck in the past and unwilling to let the language take its natural evolutionary course. That said, I prefer to avoid ambiguous usages that leave room for misinterpretation. [Janus words](http://users.tinyonline.co.uk/gswithenbank/cntrnmys.htm) like “aught”, when not clear from context, should be abandoned in favor of words with less self-contradiction. As for what I personally would call the decade, hmm . . . the 201[sup]st[/sup] decade. In contrast to “the 21st century”, this phrasing does not include other decades which might have reasons for notoriety quite different from what we will have experienced between 2000 and 2010. ---
**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:** [July 14, 2003, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-00s/188159/20 "2003-07-14T00:49:19Z")
I call this decade the Zeros. 🙂 [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-00s/188159.md?page=2)