- North Central Kentucky
- Can say “five of nine,” but more often likely to say “five to nine.”
- Both indicate 8:55
- West Virginia
- No, I don’t, but I’ve heard it used.
- I understand it to mean 8:55.
a) Virginia (but grew up in NJ, MD, and England)
b) I wouldn’t say “five of nine,” but I often say “five of” (ten of, quarter of, etc.) when the person asking knows the hour. If the hour is unknown, I’d say “almost nine,” or if it’s not so close I’d say something like “quarter to nine.”
c) It always means 8:55
I grew up with digital clocks. Those times would be “eight fifty-five” and “nine oh-five”. I don’t encounter old-time often and when I do it tends to confuse me, but this would be my reasoning:
- “Of” means possession
- Therefore, the 5 minutes belongs to the 9 hours
- It follows then that the time would be 9:05
To answer your questions:
a) Location: Maine, USA
b) Would I say “five of nine”: No, I would not
c) What time is that: I guess 9:05
Thanks for your help, folks. If you think this is confusing, in German, “halb elf” (“half eleven”) means 10:30!
Actually, I think my grandmother used to say that all the time (and she was from Louisiana). It most certainly means five minutes before nine. Saying “five of nine” is an abbreviated way of saying “five minutes short of nine o’clock,” so the manner in which you defined the possessive doesn’t really apply here, although I follow your logic.
A) Colorado
B) No
C) I have no idea.
FWIW, I’ve never heard anyone younger than my parents say it (they were born during WWII), so I always assumed it was an old-person thing.
a) northern virginia, grew up in Indiana and Baltimore County
b) yes, all the time
c) 8:55. Have never heard anybody use it to mean 9:05.
When I was a child and just learning how to tell time, we learned it in school as nine o’clock, nine oh-five, five to nine, and so on. I was going to show my dad how much I’d learned and asked him what time it was. He said, “ten of eight” and I didn’t understand. I said, “What does that mean?” and I told him how they taught us in school. He just said, “Well, it means. . .ten of eight!” My dad is a smart guy but never could explain his way out of a paper bag.
The first time I visited England and heard someone say they’d meet us at half five I had no idea WTF they were talking about.
Marylander here.
I’ve used “five of” my entire life and it has always meant five minutes until / before the next hour.
Sometimes you’ll even hear “quarter of” but you’re more likely to hear “quarter 'til”.
Also, the expressions are used by themselves all of the time, as in: Q-Is it six o’clock yet? A- No, it’s about ten of.
This did produce the puzzled reaction to which some are alluding.
When we hosted our friend from Australia for a spell I remember her asking the time, getting the “five of …” response and then her asking well what time would THAT be?
It means 8:55, but I would never use it. We’re close enough to 9 at that point, I’d just say “9 o’clock”.
-SoCalifornian
a) Nova Scotia
b) Only during a Trek convo
c) Neither–she’s Seven of Nine’s fictional little sister 
Merriam-Webster says that “before” is one of the meanings of “of,” and gives “quarter of ten” as an example.
matt, are you sure you’ve heard it used to mean 9:05? I’ve never heard that, either, and it seems that nobody in this thread has.
- North Carolina
- Don’t use it, but have heard it infrequently.
- 8:55.
Daniel
a. Eastern US (CT)
b. I’m sure I have
c. 8:55
As I said, I’d never use the expression, and if I ever heard it in real life, I’d ask to know what it meant. I just gave the reasoning I’d use if I had to guess.
Eight fifty-five is much less ambiguous. 
My mom uses it a lot (grew up in Cleveland and Chicago). I use it probably about equal to “five 'til nine.” “Five to nine” sounds clinical, and I rarely use that construction.
–Cliffy
-
Boston area (north shore)
-
Five of, quarter of, etc in the last half of the hour. Five after, quarter past or ha’past in the first half.
- grew up in central ohio, now LA
- no, I’d more likely say 8:55 or 5 til 9
3: I would guess someone meant 8:55
- Rhode Island
- Not uncommon around here; with the “of” or “to”, though its usually used by older folk. I almost never say “8:45” or “9:15” though, it’s always "quarter of"or “quarter past”.
- 8:55
Like RickJay…
a) Southern Ontario
b) No
c) Didn’t know what it meant until I read the thread.
I’d say ‘five to nine’ for 8:55 and ‘five after nine’ for 9:05. ‘Five of nine’ seems like it would specify a time five minutes away from nine, but not say in which direction. Or maybe it’s Seven of Nine’s geeky little brother.