# Quarter of or Quarter 'til? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 30, 2000, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quarter-of-or-quarter-til/9494 "2000-03-30T19:51:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Gr8Kat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gr8kat/32/18668_2.png) [@Gr8Kat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gr8Kat)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2000, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quarter-of-or-quarter-til/9494/1 "2000-03-30T19:51:00Z")
“Quarter of” is a phrase that has always confused me. People seem to use it to mean a 15 minutes _before_ an hour. “Quarter of 2:00” seems to mean “15 minutes before 2:00” or “1:45”. Is that right? Why? It seems to me that if you have a “quarter of” something, you have a piece of it. “Quarter of 2:00” should be the same as “Quarter passed 2:00” or “2:15”. If you mean 15 minutes before 2:00, then you should say _that_ or “15 minutes 'til 2:00”. Or even “1:45” (it’s the digital age for Pete’s sake ;)). Am I wrong? Why? What is the origins of “Quarter of” and why does it mean a quarter before? * * * “I hope life isn’t a big joke, because I don’t get it,” Jack Handy [The Kat House](http://members.aol.com/gr8kat1/KatGen/home.htm) [Join the FSH Muscular Dystrophy Webring](http://members.aol.com/gr8kat1/KatGen/fshwebring.htm) ---
**Author:** ![msattitude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ce73a5/32.png) [@msattitude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msattitude)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2000, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quarter-of-or-quarter-til/9494/2 "2000-03-30T20:35:00Z")
If I was refering to it being 1:45 I would say it’s a quarter 'til 2:00 not a quarter of 2:00. And a quarter after 2:00 for 2:15. A quarter usually means 1/4 of. I hope this helps. ---
**Author:** ![Andy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/aeb1de/32.png) [@Andy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2000, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quarter-of-or-quarter-til/9494/3 "2000-03-30T20:39:00Z")
1-45 = Quarter _to_ two. 1-15 = Quarter _past_ one. Easy. ---
**Author:** ![Gr8Kat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gr8kat/32/18668_2.png) [@Gr8Kat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gr8Kat)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2000, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quarter-of-or-quarter-til/9494/4 "2000-03-30T20:47:00Z")
“Quarter of” is probably an “old” person thing. My parents said it, and so do some of my co-workers. When they say it’s “quarter of 2:00”, they mean “1:45”. I get confused because I agree, “quarter of” should mean a piece of something. so when someone says “Meet me at a quarter of 2:00,” I think they mean “2:15” and show up a half hour late. Well, I haven’t actually _done_ that, but I do get confused sometimes. So why do people do that? Why does “quarter of” mean the same as “quarter to” instead of “quarter passed”? * * * “I hope life isn’t a big joke, because I don’t get it,” Jack Handy [The Kat House](http://members.aol.com/gr8kat1/KatGen/home.htm) [Join the FSH Muscular Dystrophy Webring](http://members.aol.com/gr8kat1/KatGen/fshwebring.htm) ---
**Author:** ![Boris\_B](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/fbc32d/32.png) [@Boris\_B](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boris_B)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2000, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quarter-of-or-quarter-til/9494/5 "2000-03-30T21:30:00Z")
“Quarter of” is what people say when they want to torture me. I say, “What time is it?” and they say, “Quarter of”. So it’s one quarter of one hour before or after some hour. To me, “quarter of two” would be “one half”, which is why I carry a watch. ---
**Author:** ![labradorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/3ec8ea/32.png) [@labradorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/labradorian)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2000, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quarter-of-or-quarter-til/9494/6 "2000-03-30T21:39:00Z")
Everyone I’ve ever heard use “quarter of” was either Jewish, or American, or both. Not that it helps the dialectogy of this expression along much. * * * **Dee da dee da dee dee do do / Dee ba ditty doh / Deedle dooby doo ba dee um bee ooby / Be doodle oodle doodle dee doh** [http://members.xoom.com/labradorian/](http://members.xoom.com/labradorian/) ---
**Author:** ![TheNerd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/858c86/32.png) [@TheNerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheNerd)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2000, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quarter-of-or-quarter-til/9494/7 "2000-03-30T21:56:00Z")
It’s a german thing too. Still sounds silly to me. ---
**Author:** ![Lor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ea666f/32.png) [@Lor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lor)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2000, 5:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quarter-of-or-quarter-til/9494/8 "2000-03-31T05:19:00Z")
Hmm, can’t say I ever heard anyone say “a quarter of” to mean “before” the hour. But I can hazard a guess…it’s probably shorthand for “a quarter of an hour before 2:00” or whatever. It could also be shorthand for “a quarter of an hour past 2:00”, depending on who’s saying it, but that would create even more confusion! My family and friends generally agree it means “a quarter of an hour before” or “until” 2:00. I know where you’re coming from, though. My first posting had to do with people saying “last January” to mean January of this year, whereas I always think it means January of last year. Once people get their grubby paws on the English language, anything goes, it seems! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Green\_Bean](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/green_bean/32/1760_2.png) [@Green\_Bean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Green_Bean)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2000, 5:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quarter-of-or-quarter-til/9494/9 "2000-03-31T05:41:00Z")
To WAG: Labradorian and TheNerd might have figured it out. **Hey German Speakers!! Help me out, here!!** (Ich habe Deutsch im Universitat studiert, aber ich habe alles vergessen! In German, you refer to the times that are 1/2 hour or less from the coming hour by the name of that hour. Yiddish is derived from German, so a lot of the idiosyncracies of German are found in Yiddish, too. Another guess: “O’clock” is a contraction for “of the clock.” So maybe saying “of” an hour comes from the same route. Or I could be making this all up… ---
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2000, 5:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quarter-of-or-quarter-til/9494/10 "2000-03-31T05:43:00Z")
The only people I’ve ever heard use ‘quarter of’ were young and British. Not that that helps with figureing out why it means 1/4 _to_, but… * * * _Eschew Obfuscation_ ---
**Author:** ![Foggy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foggy/32/1082_2.png) [@Foggy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Foggy)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2000, 6:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quarter-of-or-quarter-til/9494/11 "2000-03-31T06:35:00Z")
I have used a digital clock & watch for so long now, that I say 1:45 or 2:15. The other day I looked at an old clock and it took me a few mintues to figure out what time it was. * * * ===m==(ô¿ô)==m=== ---
**Author:** ![Koxinga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/4af34b/32.png) [@Koxinga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Koxinga)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2000, 9:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quarter-of-or-quarter-til/9494/12 "2000-03-31T09:40:00Z")
> [@](#): > > Originally posted by Green Bean: > \*\*To WAG: > > Labradorian and TheNerd might have figured it out. > > **Hey German Speakers!! Help me out, here!!** > (Ich habe Deutsch im Universitat studiert, aber ich habe alles vergessen! > > In German, you refer to the times that are 1/2 hour or less from the coming hour by the name of that hour. > > Yiddish is derived from German, so a lot of the idiosyncracies of German are found in Yiddish, too. > > Another guess: > “O’clock” is a contraction for “of the clock.” So maybe saying “of” an hour comes from the same route. > > Or I could be making this all up…\*\* I believe that a German would designate the time 5:30 as “halb sechs”, or “half six”. DHR ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2000, 12:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quarter-of-or-quarter-til/9494/13 "2000-03-31T12:16:00Z")
Green Bean, I believe that in German, _viertel **nach** zwei_ is “a quarter past two”, and _viertel **vor** zwei_ is “a quarter 'til two”. * * * “I must leave this planet, if only for an hour.” – Antoine de St. Exupéry Are you a turtle? ---
**Author:** ![Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/96bed5/32.png) [@Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Patty_O_Furniture)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2000, 6:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quarter-of-or-quarter-til/9494/14 "2000-04-01T06:12:00Z")
The only people I hear saying “quarter to” are the same ones that say **nük-ya-ler** instead of nuclear. These people also say **irrigardless** , and in formal memorandum write: “if you have any questions, please see myself”. I don’t even say _a quarter till two_, it doesn’t roll as easily as _one forty-five_.