meaning - What does 'ten of six' mean in regard to time?


I am referring of course to the expression describing time. Today a corporate trainer (From north Philadelphia) that is teaching a class at my company used it in the context that the current time was 'ten of six' (5:50PM), but I have always thought of it as 'ten of six' (6:10PM). Which usage is correct?



Answer



As others have said, "ten of six", though not used in many English speaking areas, would be understood as 5:50.


Nowhere in the English-speaking world, as far as I know, would it be understood as 5:10. I can imagine that Russian speakers, for example, might hear it that way, as it might be taken as a translation of the Russian "десять шестого" (/d'es'at' ʃestovo/ = "ten of the sixth") which does mean 5:10.


(A similar 'false friend' is "half six", which in British English means 6:30, but looks like a translation of German "halb sechs", which means 5:30.)


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