 |
 |
Yet another reason to fight to the death against metrics. At 07:58 PM 7/11/2000 +0100, you wrote: >OK - it seems the sign did once have a meaning over here. Nowadays, a pound >weight is written lb if you dare to mention it at all. And we have this >symbol on the keyboard that we never use. > >Best wishes > >Matthew >-----Original Message----- >From: [log in to unmask] <[log in to unmask]> >To: [log in to unmask] <[log in to unmask]> >Date: 11 July 2000 19:36 >Subject: Re: ampersands > > >>Begging your pardon, Matthew, but it's what was once called the >>"pound avoirdupois" sign in your part of the world and what's >>still called the "pound sign" over here, and we're often invited >>to "press" it in recorded telephone messages, for example. >> >>It's also still frequently used here in the sense of numeral >>and, among printers and typesetters (at least the ones with whom >>I work) as a sign for letter-space. It's all these different >>meanings, in times and places, that make the orthograph so >>fascinating to me, as I said. I didn't know that the hash mark >>(aka "service stripe" or "inbounds line"?) was the same graph, >>at least in some contexts apparently, so thanks for adding to >>my octothorpic lore-- >> >>Candice >> >> >>At 12:36 AM 7/11/00 +0100, you wrote: >>>That isn't a pound sign - it's what we used to call in my programming days >a >>>hash. I think this is a British name for it - the sign isn't widely used >>>over here, and hardly ever in its US sense of 'number' >>> >>>Best wishes >>> >>>Matthew >>> >>>-----Original Message----- >>>From: [log in to unmask] <[log in to unmask]> >>>To: [log in to unmask] <[log in to unmask]> >>>Date: 10 July 2000 22:25 >>>Subject: Re: ampersands >>> >>> >>>>Anyone else like the orthograph (aka, "pound sign"): #? I'm fascinated >>>>by its long history of shifting meanings, beginning with what I think >>>>was its original usage on early (English?) maps to mark a village (8 >>>>fields around a town square)--Candice >>>> >>> >>> >>> >> >> > > > %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%