# The 80's, the 90's, the ?????

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-80s-the-90s-the/213483>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [November 16, 2003, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-80s-the-90s-the/213483 "2003-11-16T01:19:19Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 7\
**Page:** 2

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**Author:** ![anna\_muzinska](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/41988e/32.png) [@anna\_muzinska](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/anna_muzinska)\
**Post date:** [November 16, 2003, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-80s-the-90s-the/213483/21 "2003-11-16T21:59:00Z")

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The year 2000 and up?  
How about the ‘second millenium’?

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**Author:** ![wolfstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/d6d6ee/32.png) [@wolfstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfstu)\
**Post date:** [November 16, 2003, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-80s-the-90s-the/213483/22 "2003-11-16T22:27:25Z")

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> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by anna muzinska \*  
> \*\*The year 2000 and up?  
> How about the ‘second millenium’? \*\*

Well, seeing as we’re starting on the _third_ batch of a thousand years since 1 AD, we’re already wrapped up the second millenium.

Unless you refer to the first thousand years AD (1-1000) as the ‘zeroth’ millenium…:dubious:

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**Author:** ![TheLoadedDog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/35a633/32.png) [@TheLoadedDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheLoadedDog)\
**Post date:** [November 16, 2003, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-80s-the-90s-the/213483/23 "2003-11-16T23:43:36Z")

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> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by wolf\_meister \*  
> \*\*What did people “way back when” use when they referred to the period 1900 - 1909 ? Granted, there are very few of them to ask but still wouldn’t there be some references in the literature of the day and many decades later? \*\*

I’m not sure about the decade, but I’m pretty certain individual years were “oh-five”, “oh-six”, etc.

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**Author:** ![Squink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)\
**Post date:** [November 17, 2003, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-80s-the-90s-the/213483/24 "2003-11-17T01:01:01Z")

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None of you young whippersnappers can remember the [blizzard of aught three](http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=ISO-8859-1&safe=off&as_qdr=all&q=+%22blizzard+of+aught+three%22) ? Don’t they teach you _anything_ in school ? 😛

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**Author:** ![Ms2001](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ms2001/32/18463_2.png) [@Ms2001](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ms2001)\
**Post date:** [November 17, 2003, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-80s-the-90s-the/213483/25 "2003-11-17T02:12:34Z")

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I prefer “The Future”.

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**Author:** ![Diceman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Diceman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diceman)\
**Post date:** [November 17, 2003, 12:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-80s-the-90s-the/213483/26 "2003-11-17T12:58:40Z")

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“The turn of the century” has historical precedent, but it’s rather wordy. I hear “The Oh’s” a lot. (As in '01, '02, '03…)

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**Author:** ![bughunter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/aeb1de/32.png) [@bughunter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bughunter)\
**Post date:** [November 17, 2003, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-80s-the-90s-the/213483/27 "2003-11-17T19:16:42Z")

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Based on the conduct of our leaders in Washington so far this decade, and the behavior of those who purportedly represent us there, I find the “naughties” pretty damn accurate.

But I’m guessing that some in the current White House administration is shooting for an official designation of “The Turn of the New American Century” ([cite](http://www.newamericancentury.org/aboutpnac.htm)).

:rolleyes:

Cast my vote for “oughts.”

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