Midnight

[ebee]

I have a dislike of the terms 12AM and 12PM because they do not exist .
They are either Noon or Midnight.
Does Midnight belong to the day containing the previous Noon or does it belong to the day containing the next Noon (or neither or both)?.

 

[disinfo]

Also, if today was Monday would "next Wednesday" mean in two days time or the following week?

 

[Steve]

The day endeth at 23:59:59

The day commenceth at 00:00:00

 

[kirkgas]

if today is mon "this "wed is in 2 days time, "next" wed is in 9 days time

 

[conny]

But surely 'next Wednesday' will be the one in 2 days time as that will be when the 'next Wednesday' occurs?

 

[Softus]

The day endeth at 23:59:59

The day commenceth at 00:00:00

If those were both true, then each day would contain one second less than twelve hours.

Midnight occurs at the very end of one calendar day.

 

[ebee]

if today is mon "this "wed is in 2 days time, "next" wed is in 9 days time

NO,
next Wed is the next one whixh is in two days time.

Wednesday next week is in 9 days time.

 

[swbjackson]

Time is an illusion.

 

[Softus]

if today is mon "this "wed is in 2 days time, "next" wed is in 9 days time

NO

kirkgas is right. Nine days time (in this example) is the most logical meaning.

If it's Monday, and you say "I'll meet you on Wednesday", then it must mean the Wednesday in two days time, in which case "next Wednesday" must mean a different Wednesday, otherwise the word "next" is superfluous.

 

[disinfo]

If it's Monday, and you say "I'll meet you on Wednesday", then it must mean the Wednesday in two days time, in which case "next Wednesday" must mean a different Wednesday, otherwise the word "next" is superfluous.

So do we presume that people who say "I'll meet you next Wednesday", and actually mean in nine days time don't actually understand the meaning of the word "next"?

 

[disinfo]

So do we presume that people who say "I'll meet you next Wednesday", and actually mean in nine days time don't actually understand the meaning of the word "next"?

next

• adjective 1 coming immediately after the present one in time, space, or order. 2 (of a day of the week) nearest (or the nearest but one) after the present.

 

[Softus]

So do we presume that people who say "I'll meet you next Wednesday", and actually mean in nine days time don't actually understand the meaning of the word "next"?

I have no idea what you presume. :shrug:

The past/future context partly defines what "Wednesday" means, but for a future reference the word on its own means The Nearest Wednesday.

As soon as you add more words to the word "Wednesday", it becomes ambiguous.

For example, if it's a Sunday, or whichever day you consider to the last one of the week, and you want to refer to the nearest future Wednesday, then "Wednesday next week" means the nearest Wednesday.

And if you're one of the people who say "Wednesday next week", then why do you change nomenclature for "this week", i.e. why don't you say "Wednesday this week" for the nearest one?

 

[ebee]

The week ends on a Saturday not a Sunday so wednesday next week is the wednesday that ocours after the sunday comming up.
Wheras next Wednesday is the next one to occour whether it happsns thgis week or next.

back to the OP.
19/02/08 24:00 and 20/02/08 00:00 are both equally permitted ways of denoting the same midnight.

bur if we say midnight 19/02/08 then which one do we mean.

and people wjo say 12AM and 12PM are right of their trolleys.
If we evcer were to say that at school they would march us to the front of the class, lay us down and nail our heads to the floorboards

 

[Softus]

next

• adjective .... 2 (of a day of the week) nearest (or the nearest but one) after the present.

Exactly - the dictionary doesn't define the meaning, but merely documents the prevailing ambiguity.

 

[Softus]

For example, if it's a Sunday, or whichever day you consider to the last one of the week, and you want to refer to the nearest future Wednesday, then "Wednesday next week" means the nearest Wednesday.

The week ends on a Saturday not a Sunday so wednesday next week is the wednesday that ocours after the sunday comming up.

So, for your benefit, since you seem unable to read part of my post:-

If it's a Saturday, i.e the last day of the week, and you want to refer to the nearest future Wednesday, then "Wednesday next week" means the nearest Wednesday. So how do your refer to the Wednesday that occurs 11 days after a Saturday?

19/02/08 24:00 and 20/02/08 00:00 are both equally permitted ways of denoting the same midnight.

24:00? Really? Can you provide one real life example of someone else using that?

bur if we say midnight 19/02/08 then which one do we mean.

There is only one midnight per day. It isn't very hard to understand.

and people wjo say 12AM and 12PM are right of their trolleys.

And yet 11:59am, 12:01pm, and 11:59pm are all acceptable?

If we evcer were to say that at school they would march us to the front of the class, lay us down and nail our heads to the floorboards

Are you under 18, perchance?