Poll: Telling the time

[Pebblig]

How do you tell the time when telling it to somebody else?

I personally round it to the nearest 5, but it seems it really bugs me when others say the exact time. It's simply a pet peeve of mine. Then ive met other people who round it to the nearest 10, which seemed to annoy me just as much!

In my own opinion (im not trying to tell everyone this is how it has to be) the time should be told rounding to the nearest 5. If it is 10:03 it is 5 past 10. If it it 10:37 it is 25 to 11 etc etc.

So how do you tell the time? Do you say it exactly, round to the nearest 5? To the nearest 10? (Or something crazy like to the nearest hour )

I tell the exact time . I HATE when i ask people the time and they round it . Why? Because when i ask what time it is , i want to know exacly what time it is. But thats just me , i always like to know exacly what time it is when i am doing stuff . Since i got an cell phone , i check the time every few minutes . Even at work i am always pulling out my phone to check the time . It's one of the things i do just because . And since i don'ttrust peolle to tell me the exact time since most people round it , i stop asking and use my phone .

I concur, if you want to get somewhere on time only exact time will do. I always tell the exact time, however my watch is 1 minute 20 seconds fast at the moment and I haven't got round to correcting it so I have to subtract that every time I check.

Does anyone else in Britain use the BT talking clock (dialing 123) when they can't trust the time given? (i.e thinks watch might be fast or slow)

 

[Pebblig]

OT: I wear a digital wrist watch so I tell the time exactly how it is.

I'm not some stupid good-for-nothing that's too lazy to look at an analog clock!

The old Casio's you can get for £7 are where it's at!

 

[Funkysandwich]

"It is eleven fifty-nine."

 

[Not-here-anymore]

Rounding to the nearest 5. Kind of what happens with an analogue watch. If, say, it's currently in the region of 17:45, I vary massively as to how I describe it though.
It could be quarter to 6, five forty-five, seventeen forty-five, quarter to, or even 'shit I'm late!'

People who say something like 'It's about five forty-three' always amuse me.

 

[KefkaCultist]

I completely hate the "x till y" or "x past y" methods. What I say when asked for the time depends on what I look at for it. If I look at something digital like my cellphone or computer screen then I'll say whats exactly on it because there's no real reason not to, but if it's a basic wall clock then I'll round to the nearest 5.

If I want to mess with the person asking and it's at least a few hours after noon then I'll give it in military time.

 

[Jakub324]

If it's a digital display, I'll say something along the lines of 'it's four-fifty-eight' or whatever. if it's analogue, I'll round it to the nearest five and say it normally.

 

[Sightless Wisdom]

Depends on the situation, if it's just a random request for the time I'll probably say " It's about..." to the nearest 5 or 10 minutes. However, often I'll be on lunch break or something with friends and the exact time we need to leave to get back for class on time is relevant.

 

[Shoggoth2588]

I usually tell the exact time although if we're on a quarter or half I'll say that. Alternatively, if we're waiting for something (like say, a movie starting at 8) and am asked the time at 7:52, I'll respond saying "It's 52" or something similar.

Moderately interesting side-note: My Grandma will tell you it's "Almost 4" before it's even 3:30.

 

[Summerstorm]

If i can tell the time, everybody can. (I've got no watch, cell phone or anything with me) I have a clock in my car and at my bed (And computer, of course). Nothing else needed. But yeah, i mostly give out exact. Rounded if it is clear the other person REALLY doesn't need it that accurate.

 

[C F]

I see nothing wrong in giving out the time to the minute. Knowing what the face of the clock looks like (and usually knowing the current hour), I only need to look at the minute hand to determine it.

The more accurate data, the better. So why settle for less?

 

[Phlakes]

If they know the hour I'll just give them the minutes, otherwise the whole time. Partly because it really bugs me when people give me 3:00 when it's actually 2:53.

 

[Kaymish]

It depends on the situation normally it is not to important i round to the nearest 5 but if it is important to have accurate timing where individual minutes count i will give the exact time

 

[Crazy]

Say it right down to the exact mil-second of that microscopic moment..

 

[manaman]

I tell people the exact time. To the second.

Actually I just laugh at the hobo that can't afford a phone or watch, hop in my waiting vehicle, and demand Jeeves "step on it."

I just can't stop lying today. I usually just tell people it's at least a half hour before the time it actually is.

 

[Ghaleon640]

I say the exact time every time hear me? I even go into seconds 'cause I can. I'll even hold my finger up for 20 seconds so I can let them know it is EXACTLY 5:21, and not 5:20 and 40 seconds. Thats how I roll!

Edit. Damn. Ninja'd.

 

[Idlemessiah]

It depends how close to the hour it is, the closer to half past it gets the more vague it gets for some reason. I tend to go like this:

Hour
5 past
10 past
Quarter past
20 past
Half past

Then back up replacing 'past' with 'to'. For some reason I can never bring myself to fully phrase "Twenty five past", too many syllables I guess.

 

[Faladorian]

I hate the "x to x" method. Drives me nuts. I asked for the time, not a stupid little phrase! It's even worse if they just belt out "5 til". 5 till what, chucklefuck?! 5 till the end of days? 5 till six in the morning? 5 till my fist meets your face?


Whatyueb8ithih. Just tell me the exact time. It's 11:46, not "about 5 til 11" or "quarter till". Oi.

Where I live, you hear "Quarter of"

Anything from X:38 to X:49 or some random range, people round it to "Quarter of." Not "Quarter of X," just fucking "Quarter of."

 

[Elementary - Dear Watson]

Unfortunately as a member of the military I always give the full time, and in 24hour format. Such as fifteen twenty seven hours, or zero seven fifteen. There is also no such time as 0000, as this just means the clock is broken... (we only use 2359 or 0001 in the military!)

 

[isometry]

I give the time to the nearest minute, and would hope for strangers to do the same if I had to ask them. If someone told me "quarter of X" etc, I'd politely thank them and move on to asking someone else for the time.

Also, I would suggest that the brain needs exercise to avoid being weak, just like the body does, so if giving the time to the nearest minute is a painful amount of precision, that is similar to getting an arm strain from lifting a small item.

 

[Adam Galli]

Normally to the nearest 5 but sometimes to the nearest 10 and on rare ocasions to the nearest half hour. Depends on my mood though.