|
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 18
stranger
|
OP
stranger
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 18 |
Hello.
Are the expressions 9th inst. and 20th prox. archaic? Are the specific to some variant of English such as american English or Brtish English?
Thanks, Manoj
Bangalore India 12°58' N, 77°39' E
http://www.geocities.com/kummini/
Bangalore India 12°58' N, 77°39' E
http://www.geocities.com/kummini/index.html
|
|
|
|
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 1,981
Pooh-Bah
|
Pooh-Bah
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 1,981 |
They certainly were used a lot in British business letters in the past.
We were told at school in the sixties not to use them, I suppose they have been relegated to "officialese" these days. I'm not sure if they were common in the USA or Australia.
|
|
|
|
Joined: Apr 2000
Posts: 10,542
Carpal Tunnel
|
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Apr 2000
Posts: 10,542 |
I'd venture that they are not "common" in the US; I've never seen these usages and could only guess at what they signify. http://members.aol.com/tsuwm/
|
|
|
|
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 1,981
Pooh-Bah
|
Pooh-Bah
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 1,981 |
Intt would have been used, most commonly, as the first sentence of a letter.
Eg. Thank you for your letter of the 14th inst. (meaning last month).
Prox. usually refers to next month.
|
|
|
|
Joined: Apr 2000
Posts: 10,542
Carpal Tunnel
|
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Apr 2000
Posts: 10,542 |
so prox. abbreviates proximo and inst. is instant... although MWC gives this sense of instant as "of the current month". http://members.aol.com/tsuwm/
|
|
|
|
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 1,981
Pooh-Bah
|
Pooh-Bah
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 1,981 |
Yep, you're right again - it does mean the current month, I always did get that one wrong!
|
|
|
|
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 140
member
|
member
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 140 |
Yes, Jo, they were certainly in use down under, and let's not forget "ult" (ultimo) for the last month.
|
|
|
|
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 1,981
Pooh-Bah
|
Pooh-Bah
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 1,981 |
Thanks for ult. - I was thinking of Latin abbreviations and couldn't remember that one. I think we've got them all now. QED.
|
|
|
|
Joined: Apr 2000
Posts: 81
journeyman
|
journeyman
Joined: Apr 2000
Posts: 81 |
As a PS I can take Latin abbreviations PRN, although I take this site at least OD, often BD, sometime TDS and occasionally QID.
Philip
Signed pp Jan the Dog, general dogsbody &c.
|
|
|
|
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 1,981
Pooh-Bah
|
Pooh-Bah
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 1,981 |
>I take this site at least OD, often BD, sometime TDS and occasionally QID
And would you prescribe the same for others?
|
|
|
Forums16
Topics13,913
Posts229,580
Members9,187
|
Most Online3,341 Dec 9th, 2011
|
|
0 members (),
332
guests, and
0
robots. |
Key:
Admin,
Global Mod,
Mod
|
|
|
|