Date: Tue, 30 Nov 1993 14:19:07 CST From: Dennis Baron Subject: quarter of `A quarter of' is `a quarter to/till' ie, `before,' the hour. `A quarter of 7' is not `1 3/4,' as one misguided usage "expert" once insisted. Nor is `a quarter to' `15 minutes toward the next hour,' as another one maintained. The one I've always had trouble remembering was `half seven' -- is that 6:30 or 7:30 (or is it really 3.5 after all)? Dennis (that's d/E/nnis) --