# Use all the prefixes, dammit **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [October 22, 2014, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/use-all-the-prefixes-dammit/702103 "2014-10-22T02:54:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2014, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/use-all-the-prefixes-dammit/702103/21 "2014-10-22T18:59:17Z")
I thought this sounded familiar; [here](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=735234)’s a thread from last month on the same subject. ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2014, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/use-all-the-prefixes-dammit/702103/22 "2014-10-22T19:04:06Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > I’m curious what you consider to be correct pronunciation. I’m not calling you out; I may well agree with your pronunciations. In most cases, in the American language, the emphásis is on the first sylláble of the prefix: mílliliter, kílogram, héctare, but there are a few variants, most notably kilómeter and megafúckton. When it gets used a lot, kilometer is sometimes shortened to “klick”. Personally, I think it would be handy to revive the “league”, as 5Km. Then a great-circle of the earth would be ~4 kiloleagues. ---
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2014, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/use-all-the-prefixes-dammit/702103/23 "2014-10-22T20:10:35Z")
> [@DrCube](#): > > You must be pretty old, as this happened in 1893. 🙂 > > [Mendenhall Order - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mendenhall_Order) Well, okay, but it occurred in the CRC Handbook in the 1970’s. ---
**Author:** ![GusNSpot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gusnspot/32/436_2.png) [@GusNSpot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GusNSpot)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2014, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/use-all-the-prefixes-dammit/702103/24 "2014-10-22T20:53:30Z")
Skosh RCH BCH Thanks, I forgot those… ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2014, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/use-all-the-prefixes-dammit/702103/25 "2014-10-22T22:24:06Z")
The less precise version of that is the snatch whisker. I think the RCH and BCH get used in direct application, while the snatch whisker is more commonly used after the fact. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2014, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/use-all-the-prefixes-dammit/702103/26 "2014-10-22T23:44:33Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > I’m curious what you consider to be correct pronunciation. I’m not calling you out; I may well agree with your pronunciations. I make this same mistake a lot myself, but I’m referring to the “kil-OM-it-ers” vs “kilo-metres” where it is supposed to be the latter. Anything that uses “-OM-it-er” ought to refer to the gauge, not the measurement. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2014, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/use-all-the-prefixes-dammit/702103/27 "2014-10-22T23:49:11Z")
> [@Amateur\_Barbarian](#): > > Ah, the hyper-metrification argument - part of what killed acceptance here in the 1970s-80s. The idea that along with changing units, we somehow have to get super-precise in our measurements and specifications, too. I don’t know why you think that. We still round things up and down when we use metric. It’s only when you see conversions in news articles that an unnecessary amount of precision is used (also done with currency and temperature). I roll my eyes whenever I see something like “700 miles away (1126.54km)” when clearly they can round that conversion down to a neat 1100km. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/use-all-the-prefixes-dammit/702103.md?page=1)