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At work today I had a receptionist advise me on the phone that my contact would be back tomorrow at noon-thirty. I knew exactly what she meant (half past noon) and liked the term immediately (it has a certain ring to it), although I'm not sure I've ever heard it used before. It's much less lugubrious than saying "twelve-thirty am" or "twelve-thirty pm". And I can't imagine ever using "midnight-thirty", just doesn't make it to my mind. Has anyone ever heard or used noon-thirty before? Or is this an emerging usage?
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Carpal Tunnel
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Dear WO'N: I was really surprised when I looked at the etymology of "noon" It originally meant 3PM!
noon 7n1n8
n.
5ME < OE non, orig., the ninth hour (by the Roman method, reckoning from sunrise: i.e., 3 p.m.) < L nona (hora), ninth (hour) < novem, NINE6
1 twelve o‘clock in the daytime; midday
2 the highest point or culmination; time of greatest power, etc.
3 [Rare] midnight: now only in noon of night
adj.
of or occurring at noon (midday)
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Pooh-Bah
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Pooh-Bah
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An "hour" was a malleable quantity in Roman times. They were always approximations at the best of time. Wrist sundials couldn't be calibrated to an atomic clock, unfortunately.
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Carpal Tunnel
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Lugubrious? Twelve-thirty (p,a).m., lugubrious? What definition of lugubrious you using, Juan? I suppose if you mean "not so silly-sounding", then I guess it is less lugubrious. It also has the advantage of being unambiguous, a trait not shared by those a.m./p.m. versions that plague some people who have trouble when they tag minutes on to 12:00 noon, which, technically is neither a.m. nor p.m. and, I suppose, if you're in a business that has contacts that are liable to show up at half past midnight, then simple context wouldn't be sufficient to let you know what was meant by the oh so lugubrious twelve-thirty.
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Carpal Tunnel
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Sheesh, Faldo! What, were you scratching at fleas when you read this post? 
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Carpal Tunnel
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Don't avoid the question, Juan. What is your defintion of lugubrious? Just asking as a word thang.
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Carpal Tunnel
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we interrupt this nit pick... I like noon-thirty, but would only use it in fun, with people who like to abuse language. it's a cute usage, but I don't see becoming mainstream... but who knows... 
formerly known as etaoin...
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Carpal Tunnel
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Seems to me the receptionist's got a good idea there. Keeps people from showing up in the wee small hours just after midnight.
I wonder if this confusion about a.m./p.m. was one reason the military adopted a 24-hour "clock."
Half past midnight is zero thirty hours and half past noon is 1230 hours Morning hours are zero one, zero two hours etc.
One in the afternoon is 13 hundred hours, 6 p.m. is 18 hundred hours etc etc
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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Not just the military. Much of the *rest of the world uses a 24-hour clock.
Anyway, Juan, to answer your question, I'd never heard "noon-thirty" before. I like it!
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