# Is "fortnight" common usage in Britain? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 3, 2011, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-fortnight-common-usage-in-britain/577033 "2011-04-03T13:54:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2011, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-fortnight-common-usage-in-britain/577033/1 "2011-04-03T13:54:30Z")
I was listening to BBC World on NPR the other day and was surprised to hear the reporter use the term “fortnight”. That would never happen in the US, as that term is considered archaic. I doubt that even 50% of the population would understand what it meant. So, is that common usage in Britain? How about “score”? Most Americans would recognize “Four score and seven years ago”, but I’m not sure many would actually know that it means 87 years ago. ---
**Author:** ![Winnipeg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/ec9cab/32.png) [@Winnipeg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Winnipeg)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2011, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-fortnight-common-usage-in-britain/577033/2 "2011-04-03T13:58:19Z")
Yes its very common. I would have used it (when I lived in the UK) instead of “2-weeks” most of the time. Score is not used in normal conversation. ---
**Author:** ![Cazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cazzle/32/75_2.png) [@Cazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cazzle)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2011, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-fortnight-common-usage-in-britain/577033/3 "2011-04-03T13:59:45Z")
Yes, fortnight is in common use in the UK and Australia, and according to Wikipedia, also in Pakistan, India and New Zealand. Many people receive wages and pay rent on a fortnightly basis. I haven’t heard score being used although I was aware of it and what it means. ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2011, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-fortnight-common-usage-in-britain/577033/4 "2011-04-03T14:03:58Z")
It’s pretty common in the English speaking world. Google gets about 10,000,000 references. ---
**Author:** ![SciFiSam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/47e85d/32.png) [@SciFiSam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SciFiSam)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2011, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-fortnight-common-usage-in-britain/577033/5 "2011-04-03T14:05:48Z")
Fortnight’s extremely common and you’ll especially hear people referring to things like ‘a fortnight in Barcelona.’ ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2011, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-fortnight-common-usage-in-britain/577033/6 "2011-04-03T14:12:37Z")
More likely a fortnight in Ibiza. ---
**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:** [April 3, 2011, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-fortnight-common-usage-in-britain/577033/7 "2011-04-03T14:24:16Z")
It’s common in Ireland too. Score less so, but I hear it. “Give us a loan of a score.” ---
**Author:** ![Lust4Life](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ecc23a/32.png) [@Lust4Life](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lust4Life)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2011, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-fortnight-common-usage-in-britain/577033/8 "2011-04-03T14:27:07Z")
As above for fortnight. You still hear "score"used by some Estuarine speakers (Would sound like Cockney to Americans) in a self conscious manner in an attempt to sound “London streetwise”, always in reference to money. As in “yeah right mate,I put a score on, for first past the post, down at the bookies.” Yes,friend, I bet twenty pounds for my horse to win, in my local betting establishment . They tend to sound more twat then streetwise, but thats only my opinion. ---
**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:** [April 3, 2011, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-fortnight-common-usage-in-britain/577033/9 "2011-04-03T14:41:31Z")
> [@Lust4Life](#): > > As above for fortnight. > > You still hear "score"used by some Estuarine speakers (Would sound like Cockney to Americans) in a self conscious manner in an attempt to sound “London streetwise”, always in reference to money. > > As in “yeah right mate,I put a score on, for first past the post, down at the bookies.” > > Yes,friend, I bet twenty pounds for my horse to win, in my local betting establishment . > > They tend to sound more twat then streetwise, but thats only my opinion. Gotta love the mockney rebels! ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2011, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-fortnight-common-usage-in-britain/577033/10 "2011-04-03T14:46:32Z")
Common in the English-language press in Thailand, too. I love the word. Used to read it all the time in British novels back in Texas. ---
**Author:** ![SciFiSam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/47e85d/32.png) [@SciFiSam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SciFiSam)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2011, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-fortnight-common-usage-in-britain/577033/11 "2011-04-03T15:11:38Z")
> [@Lust4Life](#): > > As above for fortnight. > > You still hear "score"used by some Estuarine speakers (Would sound like Cockney to Americans) in a self conscious manner in an attempt to sound “London streetwise”, always in reference to money. > > As in “yeah right mate,I put a score on, for first past the post, down at the bookies.” > > Yes,friend, I bet twenty pounds for my horse to win, in my local betting establishment . > > They tend to sound more twat then streetwise, but thats only my opinion. I’ve heard loads of people from Essex and the Eat London borders use score for money too, but it’s not self-conscious or pretend, it’s just part of the local dialect. You’d never hear four-score or other multiples though, and it’s only for money. ---
**Author:** ![Malacandra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Malacandra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malacandra)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2011, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-fortnight-common-usage-in-britain/577033/12 "2011-04-03T15:14:19Z")
In my experience “score” is as dead as a doornail in everyday use, though educated folk perfectly well understand when the Psalmist sings that “the years of a man are threescore and ten” and it turns up from time to time in archaic references. “Fortnight” however is alive and kicking everywhere in England I have ever been. ---
**Author:** ![fumster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e9c0ed/32.png) [@fumster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fumster)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2011, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-fortnight-common-usage-in-britain/577033/13 "2011-04-03T15:52:55Z")
I heard it just two weeks ago. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2011, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-fortnight-common-usage-in-britain/577033/14 "2011-04-03T16:10:08Z")
Read it Friday. I correspond with sassenachs often, and they use it as a general span of time just as readily as we say ‘for a couple of weeks now’ they might say ‘for a fortnight now’. \*sassenach - englishman - I correspond with true Scotsmen too ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2011, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-fortnight-common-usage-in-britain/577033/15 "2011-04-03T18:04:29Z")
> [@don\_t\_ask](#): > > It’s pretty common in the English speaking world. Google gets about 10,000,000 references. But not in the US, which I think is a sizable chunk of the English Speaking world. I just can’t imagine using it in normal conversation unless I was trying to be funny or trying to sound like (the late) WF Buckley. ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2011, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-fortnight-common-usage-in-britain/577033/16 "2011-04-03T18:07:34Z")
Moved Cafe Society --\> GQ. ---
**Author:** ![Teacake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Teacake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Teacake)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2011, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-fortnight-common-usage-in-britain/577033/17 "2011-04-03T18:19:12Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > But not in the US, which I think is a sizable chunk of the English Speaking world. I just can’t imagine using it in normal conversation unless I was trying to be funny or trying to sound like (the late) WF Buckley. Oh, where to start? OK, there are nearly a billion more people in India than there are in the USA. Now you add on all the other countries that speak English - and see how one day you might need to realise that you’re not everything. ---
**Author:** ![Do\_Not\_Taunt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/do_not_taunt/32/2968_2.png) [@Do\_Not\_Taunt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Do_Not_Taunt)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2011, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-fortnight-common-usage-in-britain/577033/18 "2011-04-03T18:23:49Z")
> [@Teacake](#): > > Oh, where to start? OK, there are nearly a billion more people in India than there are in the USA. Now you add on all the other countries that speak English - and see how one day you might need to realise that you’re not everything. A lot of times when people use the phrase, ‘English Speaking World,’ they mean countries where English is most of the population’s primary language, and they do not include India. YMMV. ---
**Author:** ![Teacake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Teacake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Teacake)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2011, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-fortnight-common-usage-in-britain/577033/19 "2011-04-03T18:30:13Z")
> [@Do\_Not\_Taunt](#): > > A lot of times when people use the phrase, ‘English Speaking World,’ they mean countries where English is most of the population’s primary language, and they do not include India. YMMV. I don’t know why they wouldn’t include India, since English is one of its (two) official languages. However as I said, “where to start?” was my immediate thought. I did contemplate going and adding up all the populations of all the countries with English as an official language, then maybe even trying some complicated maths to allow for residents of those countries who, for whatever reason, didn’t speak English, but then I thought - I don’t care. The OP can do the sums himself, though he won’t, because America will always be so big - so absolutely huge - gosh, we’re all really impressed down here, I can tell you. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2011, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-fortnight-common-usage-in-britain/577033/20 "2011-04-03T18:35:03Z")
Just offhand I would say that when a span of time greater than a week, and less than a month, is being mentioned or discussed, it’s most often “a week to ten days” and only rarely “a fortnight” in this part of the world. (Southeastern USA) A week makes some sense but “two weeks” doesn’t make me think of anything special. A month does. A season does, and it can even mean the length of time a sport is to be played. I’m genuinely curious what sorts of activities and events involve fourteen days. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-fortnight-common-usage-in-britain/577033.md?page=2)