Hi SD,
I saw a sign yesterday saying “Pool is open from 12 PM - 7 PM, Sunday to Saturday”.
Why don’t they just say 24/7? “Every Day” is a good choice of words. Am I supposed to intuit something educational from this “Sunday to Saturday”? Is there another day I don’t know about?
Broadly speaking…is there a reason why businesses use this phrase? It doesn’t tell me anything important, but I of course could be missing something.
Thanks,
Dave
12PM to 7PM is eight hours, not 24. “Every day” would work.
Thanks, running_coach. I misspoke. But you get my point 
“Every Day” might imply that they’re open 365 days a year, including holidays.
The sign probably means that the pool is open every day. But that’s not what the sign actually says. “To” does not mean the same thing as “through.”
Say that you’re planning to meet somebody, but you’re not sure when exactly you’ll get there. They say, “I’ve got some things to do here; I’ll be here to 5:00.” That means that they plan to leave at 5:00. But if they say, “I’ll be here through 5:00” – that opens the possibility that they will leave later than 5:00.
To = until
Through = including
So what the sign actually says, even though it’s probably not intended, is that the pool is closed on Saturdays.
It says that because whoever wrote the sign thought they’d look smart, when in fact, it’s stupid. Open daily x hours to x hours would be way to phrase it.