# Rursday? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [January 19, 2007, 4:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rursday/388560 "2007-01-19T04:27:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![araminty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b5e925/32.png) [@araminty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/araminty)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2007, 4:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rursday/388560/1 "2007-01-19T04:27:58Z")
Hi guys My boss sent me an email recently where days of the week were represented by single letters: M T W R F What? R? Did Scooby Doo rename the fourth day of the week, and someone forgot to tell me? Have you guys come across this before? ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2007, 4:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rursday/388560/2 "2007-01-19T04:30:50Z")
I have, in instances like that where they only want to use one letter to designate the day. ---
**Author:** ![LifeOnWry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/96bed5/32.png) [@LifeOnWry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LifeOnWry)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2007, 4:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rursday/388560/3 "2007-01-19T04:32:20Z")
I remember that from my college schedule (so a loooong bloody time ago). Thursday was an R, Saturday was an A. ---
**Author:** ![Only\_Mostly\_Dead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/f19dbf/32.png) [@Only\_Mostly\_Dead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Only_Mostly_Dead)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2007, 4:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rursday/388560/4 "2007-01-19T04:34:31Z")
When it’s just single-letter days, I have seen M T W H F pretty often. The T is already taken by Tuesday, so we just move to the next letter in the word, tHursday. Using R just makes little sense. ---
**Author:** ![WolfpackJeep](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpackjeep/32/2921_2.png) [@WolfpackJeep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WolfpackJeep)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2007, 4:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rursday/388560/5 "2007-01-19T04:35:20Z")
In cases like that, I’ve always seen Thursday represented as “H”. ---
**Author:** ![Antigen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/848f3c/32.png) [@Antigen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Antigen)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2007, 4:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rursday/388560/6 "2007-01-19T04:39:40Z")
I’ve seen H used fairly often. I’m also used to J, for “jeudi”. ---
**Author:** ![Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ccd318/32.png) [@Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paul_in_Qatar)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2007, 4:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rursday/388560/7 "2007-01-19T04:54:44Z")
I use M T W R F S U I also picked it up from an old college schedule, I like the idea and I am running with it. Don’t be afraid, join us. ---
**Author:** ![NinjaChick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/71c47a/32.png) [@NinjaChick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NinjaChick)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2007, 5:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rursday/388560/8 "2007-01-19T05:31:49Z")
My current college schedule indicates Thursday by using an R. Also, by it’s place in a dashed line, so it would be impossible to not figure it out (ie a class that meets on Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday is indicated -MT-R–). And tomorrow is that blessed, blessed F day… _plods off to study more_ ---
**Author:** ![Jamaika\_a\_jamaikaiake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/7993a0/32.png) [@Jamaika\_a\_jamaikaiake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jamaika_a_jamaikaiake)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2007, 5:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rursday/388560/9 "2007-01-19T05:43:36Z")
I always use a theta for θursday: M T W θ F Makes the most sense to me… ---
**Author:** ![Raygun99](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Raygun99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raygun99)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2007, 5:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rursday/388560/10 "2007-01-19T05:43:46Z")
I use R in these cases because it’s the next most dominant sound in Thursday. Thurrrrsday. ---
**Author:** ![Kid\_A\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ed8c4c/32.png) [@Kid\_A\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kid_A_1)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2007, 5:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rursday/388560/11 "2007-01-19T05:51:00Z")
I’ve always seen R. High school calendars and agendas. University schedules. A variety of jobs. I wonder if it’s a regional thing. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2007, 5:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rursday/388560/12 "2007-01-19T05:53:07Z")
I’ve only ever seen R, or just a second T. I don’t remember how Sunday was differentiated from Saturday. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2007, 6:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rursday/388560/13 "2007-01-19T06:36:28Z")
First saw it in HS in the 70’s. Still use it myself, when I’m knocking out a quick calendar on scratch paper, for my own purposes. ---
**Author:** ![Scarlett67](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scarlett67/32/7387_2.png) [@Scarlett67](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scarlett67)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2007, 6:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rursday/388560/14 "2007-01-19T06:37:52Z")
I still use R for Thursday, also from my college schedules. ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2007, 6:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rursday/388560/15 "2007-01-19T06:52:23Z")
I’m sorry to say that at my university it’s MUWRF. ---
**Author:** ![CanvasShoes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/74df32/32.png) [@CanvasShoes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CanvasShoes)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2007, 7:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rursday/388560/16 "2007-01-19T07:05:49Z")
[QUOTE=araminty] Hi guys My boss sent me an email recently where days of the week were represented by single letters: M T W R F What? R? Did Scooby Doo rename the fourth day of the week, and someone forgot to tell me? Have you guys come across this before? [/QUOTE] Yup, the university where I both take classes and am an adjunct (why can’t they just say part time?) faculty member. As long as I can remember, they’ve used R for Thursday. S is Saturday. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2007, 8:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rursday/388560/17 "2007-01-19T08:50:55Z")
This is similar to how the colour black gets abbreviated to ‘K’ in printing and graphics terminology - the letter B is already taken up by blue. ---
**Author:** ![Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ccd318/32.png) [@Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paul_in_Qatar)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2007, 9:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rursday/388560/18 "2007-01-19T09:05:45Z")
Why is 'Smoke" designated “K” in weather reports and NOTAMs? That one has always bugged me. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2007, 12:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rursday/388560/19 "2007-01-19T12:31:50Z")
It’s because Scooby-Doo was in charge of abbreviations that day. ---
**Author:** ![robardin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/43a26b/32.png) [@robardin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robardin)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2007, 1:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rursday/388560/20 "2007-01-19T13:17:30Z")
[QUOTE=Antigen] I’ve seen H used fairly often. I’m also used to J, for “jeudi”. [/QUOTE] But how does one distinguish “Mardi” from “Mercredi” with a single letter? Or are you saying that in Montreal, in a display of bilingualism, conventionally uses the French names for Thursday and Sunday (M, T, W, J, F, S, D) for the days of the week (so that (D)imanche is different from Saturday)? As for using “R” instead of “H” for Thursday: makes sense to me, as the “T” in “Thursday” is really part of the "digraph consonant “th” and not a consonant on its own. Skipping the vowel “u”, the next “characteristic consonant sound” in the word “Thursday” is the “R”. What about Saturday and Sunday? I guess Saturday is “S” and Sunday is “D”, though if the calendar is arranged so that Sunday is the first day of the week, I guess it gets first dibs on the “S” and Saturday becomes… Well, if “T” is used and “R” is used, I suppose "D? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rursday/388560.md?page=2)