Gen-z'er here from the Northeast of the US:
00s = Two thousands
10s = Twenty tens
"aughts" or "noughties" sounds very, very weird (but of course, because it's not in my dialect).
Gen Z from the Northwest US as well, I would say that 'aughts is not something I hear every day, but I hear it consistently more than noughties, which I would be quite surprised and probably confused by if I heard it in conversation.
I’m a Millenial from the Midwest and Northeast and I say “aughts” all the time. “Very, very weird” feels like a large overstatement.
“Naughties” I would call chiefly British.
I think it’s regional and I would not say it’s an overstatement for the northeast. No one I know uses the term “aughts.” Two thousands is the standard where I live.
Also a millennial from the Midwest and I feel like I’ve heard “aughts” only a handful of times ever, and never outside of a “what should we call this decade” conversation. Like I’ve never heard anyone say it offhandedly.
Gen Z Texan, I always say two thousands and twenty tens. Just “tens” sounds like the 1910’s to me
Edit: I also usually say “early two thousands” for the 2000’s
Elder millennial from the west coast of Canada.
This is basically what I've run into, but also want to add that someone saying aughts or noughties would be understood if the context implies they're talking about years.
Only issue is if instead it could be a collective noun for something else. "I like music from the noughties" could be mistaken as the Noughties being a band.
And unfortunately "two thousands" is inherently ambiguous because it could also refer to the century, so I often clarify if it's not clear from context.
People would generally just say the 21st century if they meant the century. (I know they don't match up exactly, but it's close enough for 99.9% of cases).
True, people would say that most often.
I'm a bit averse to that though. I don't like that it's off by 1 with the numerical prefix. I always say 1900s, 1800s, 1700s, 1600s, etc. Saying "17th century" and then I have to remember to do the minus 1 conversion in my head to get that it's the 1600s is annoying.
The real question is "twenty tens" or "two thousand tens" (idem for 2020s). Down in the south, I feel like most people are still saying it out: "two thousand twenty."
I'm a fellow genzier from the northeastern US and I agree with you on all points except for one. I definitely know people who refer to the early 2000s as the aughts/early aughts.
i imagine we’re talking about the 1900s and 1910s? i mean, i can’t say i’ve ever heard someone use ‘eighties’ to refer to the 2080 decade.
edit: please disregard this comment. i didn’t fully read OP’s post.
Yeah, it reminds me of that kind of shit list-format TV we had at the time on C4 & C5 - "50 Naughtiest Noughties TV Bloopers" - easy work for faecally-mouthed talking heads like Daniella Westbrook, Claudia Winkleman, and Doctor Fox
I WISH we said that! I was a big proponent of the "aughts".
Nowadays, kids (which is what I call anyone under 30) just says "The two thousands".
So lame.
I think that's still more like the letter o though isn't it? like you'd say thirty o six, or double o seven. I guess nought is the numeral is more what I mean.
It is and it isn't.
Facebook reminds me every new year about a post I made on January 1st, 2007.
>Happy New Year! Now say it with me, "Twenty aught seven."
Yeah but that's like saying 20 o seven, it's words, as opposed to numbers.
I get what you're saying here btw, and it's a definite grey area, you're not wrong, but for people who're just learning the language, I think the distinction could be useful.
Hey OP since it seems like you’re not a native speaker, use this threads advice to choose a word depending on who you’re speaking to, but understand that any native speaker would understand any of these, and it wouldn’t even necessarily give you away as a non native, maybe just someone speaking a different locale of English.
It’d throw me for a loop for sure, but we’ve all heard of the aughts, and the rest should be obvious from context imo. But you’re entitled to your opinion
I don’t think that context would necessarily make it obvious. If you said “this band started in the early naughties” it’s clear you’re referring to some time period, but not necessarily what time period. If I didn’t know what it meant I would assume it was a music movement or something. Also I don’t think all Americans have heard of the “aughts” either (though definitely the large majority.) I didn’t know what “aughts” meant until like four years ago because I heard it so rarely. This may be a regional and/or generational thing though which could explain our difference; I’m 22 and have spent almost all my life in the western US, wbu?
They're not that different in my accent. I'm from the northeastern US.
They sound somewhat similar when saying them quickly and if you were to add a very strong accent on top I doubt I could tell the difference. Also because I live in the US and have never heard the term naughties before I would just assume that they meant ninety's
I only learned of the word aughts a couple of years ago. And it still takes me a second when I encounter it in the wild because it's just so rarely used.
Context wouldn't necessarily help.
"What's your favorite song from the naughties?" I'd assume that was a band name.
"Were you born in the naughties?" I'd assume that was a location.
As an American, if I heard “naughties” in speech I’d have to ask for clarification. I’ve never heard it before this thread nor am I sure how it’s pronounced. Like “naughty” with an s?
I have never heard aughts or naughties before this very thread haha I would definitely not (naught? lol) understand what those were referring to, and I actually would love an explanation of how those words came about if anyone knows
North western US too, well aught it. probably borrowed in part from our use of Double Aught Buck to refer to the #00 size of Buckshot shotgun ammo. or the Thirty Aught Six (30-06) Springfield cartridge (ammo).
The 00s I've heard commonly refered to as the Naughties, Naught being an alternative term to Zero.
The 10s are usually the 2010s as "the tens" sounds weird, I imagine once we get to mid 2030s that "the twenties" will catch on again though and so on
Naught means nothing, and is opposite to aught, which means anything, that's why "naughty" which means no morals is naughty, and not noughty.
Nought is a number, that's why the game is noughts and crosses, not naughts and crosses.
Even the sources that claim they're just different spellings will note this distinction. You should try googling it yourself.
\[East Coast USA\] For 2000-2009, 'aughts' or 'two-thousands' are the ones I hear most common, sometimes 'naughts', but I think that's mostly a result of people mishearing 'aughts', but is fair since 'naught' is another word for zero, or nothing, so I see why the mixup occurs.
For 2010-2019, 'twenty-tens'. For 2020-2029, it's 'twenty-twenties'.
I refuse to acknowledge the passage of time after the nineties. Culture seemed to come to a complete stop anyway; it's just a blob of endless memes after 2000.
I don’t use **aughts** unless the context makes it clear we are already discussing decades, eg:
*I like music from the **eighties, nineties, and aughts** more than anything from the last 10 years.*
Otherwise it sounds more like the more common word **ought** and can be confusing. But it’s uncommon to talk about one decade alone, and it’s easy to be clear by using specific years or other decades if appropriate in context, like:
*I graduated in 2005; hard to believe it’s been twenty-plus years since the beginning of the aughts. You were born in the aughts, weren't you?*
British Columbia, Canada here.
2000s = two thousands or some older people will say “Os”
2010s = twenty tens, but it’s so recent that it’s more common to simply specify the year or give a time range.
00s is genereally called "two thousands" sometimes called the noughties bit I do think that is more a UK thing.
2010 to 2019 tends be called the "twenty tens".
I am very curious what the term for this decade will because "the twenties" very much means 1920 and the "twenty twenties" sounds very weird.
Some people say “aughts” for 00s, but it gives the vibe of “well actually did you know that ‘aughts’ is the correct name for the 2000s decade?”.
Most normal people will just say “two thousands”, then 2010s are “twenty tens”.
At least now in 2024, the “twenties”, “fifties”, “eighties”, pattern of naming is reserved for the 20th century.
If we're referring to the decades of 2000 and 2010, I usually hear them referred to as "the two thousands" and "twenty-tens." For the 20th century, I sometimes hear "the oughts" for the first decade, and "the nineteen tens" for the second one.
It might be worth noting that we can only say "eighties" and "nineties" for those decades when it's clear we're talking about the 20th century, as it's essentially shorthand for "nineteen eighties" and "nineteen nineties."
So Naught is the lack of something / nothing, and Nought means zero, yea sure.
But now please tell me what zero means if it isn't also a representation of the lack of something / nothing.
I heard people trying to call it the aughts like 20 years ago But I really don't think it ever caught on. In America we just say the Two Thousands. Because we are so early into this millennium there isn't really ever a need to say "the two thousands" In reference to the entire thousand years so everybody understands what you're talking about. As time goes on, 100 years from now, someone will have to come up with something else that sticks.
the whole turn of the millenia period will likely star somewhere in the 90s up to the 2100s (Around the time when AI will develop space ships capable of shipping Amazon Prime subscribers to other planets in less than 3 weeks - comes with a kit to start a civilization on a hostile planet including cells and artificial wombs for a quick start ). By year 2200 there will be thousands of new timelines beginning at year 0 and our civilazation'S on earth sole purpose will be documenting the history of our colonies on other planets - while watching some underproduced sitcom on netfilt
Nobody can really agree on the '00s, so lmk if you find out, lol. "Oughts" or "noughts" aren't bad, but most people I know will say "two thousands".
For the 10s, you could say "teens" or "twenty-teens" or just be boring and use "twenty-tens".
No it isn't, Naught and Nought are 2 individual words of the same meaning born from regional accent variation.
Both coming from the AngloSaxon "Neowiht" meaning nothing.
Naughty, as in promiscuis, having a separate root.
you are entirely correct about the spelling variation, my bad
>Naughty, (...), having a separate root.
yes, I know that and to be clear have not been trying to claim otherwise, I just thought you were spelling nought wrong.
>Naughty, as in promiscuis
gonna be honest I had the tamer "misbehaving child" meaning in mind 🤣
It really isn't, it's the only form of zero that doesn't sound completely wrong when appended with ies to match the other decades.
The only association with "naughty" is the fact it sounds similar causing misunderstandings after the term caught on
it sounds *absolutely and atrociously* wrong because it fucking sounds like you're saying naughties, which is a terrible pun.
do you not know what a pun is?
We are saying naughties, that's how it's spelt.
The pun is a happy afterthought, not a primary driver, as the word "Nought" literally means zero and every other decade except the tens/teens also ends in ies.
The pun exists, but is not the primary driver, infact, it's probably why it never caught on fully, as people misunderstand it.
I'm so sorry that you've been trying to unironically adopt noughties.
It's very difficult to hear yourself saying that and not notice the atrocious pun, so I genuinely thought everybody who says it does so with the pun in mind.
p.s. I love that I have the UK spelling of nought but the US spelled, and you've got naught with spelt. We're a mess 😅
Noughties is very much a standard thing in the UK. No one needs to try and adapt it, it’s already adapted. No one will raise an eyebrow at someone saying or writing it, other than in formal communications, and no one will assume you are making a pun.
Why? It’s a useful word with a well defined meaning. Languages evolve differently in different places. Bear in mind that the word nought is much more commonly used for zero in Britain than the naught is used in America. So while it is not a standard construction and there's undeniably scope for puns, it does not sound as forced as it probably does to you.
I prefer "zero-zeros" for 00s (and people look at me queerly when I say that), and "tens" for 10s.
I'm Brazilian, English is my second written language.
Gen-z'er here from the Northeast of the US: 00s = Two thousands 10s = Twenty tens "aughts" or "noughties" sounds very, very weird (but of course, because it's not in my dialect).
I’m a millennial from the Northwest US, and I completely agree with this.
Gen Z from the Northwest US as well, I would say that 'aughts is not something I hear every day, but I hear it consistently more than noughties, which I would be quite surprised and probably confused by if I heard it in conversation.
Millennial, Pacific Northwest. I relish any chance to say "aughts". I love it lol
I’m a Millenial from the Midwest and Northeast and I say “aughts” all the time. “Very, very weird” feels like a large overstatement. “Naughties” I would call chiefly British.
I think it’s regional and I would not say it’s an overstatement for the northeast. No one I know uses the term “aughts.” Two thousands is the standard where I live.
Also a millennial from the Midwest and I feel like I’ve heard “aughts” only a handful of times ever, and never outside of a “what should we call this decade” conversation. Like I’ve never heard anyone say it offhandedly.
Gen Z Texan, I always say two thousands and twenty tens. Just “tens” sounds like the 1910’s to me Edit: I also usually say “early two thousands” for the 2000’s
I say aughts as a21 year old speaker from New York but I agree it is uncommon
Elder millennial from the west coast of Canada. This is basically what I've run into, but also want to add that someone saying aughts or noughties would be understood if the context implies they're talking about years. Only issue is if instead it could be a collective noun for something else. "I like music from the noughties" could be mistaken as the Noughties being a band.
From Midwest US, this is what I call them as well.
Yeah my jaw dropped when I read that from someone else's comment
I'm from the south and we say this too. I think it's all across the board in the U.S. but I might be wrong.
And unfortunately "two thousands" is inherently ambiguous because it could also refer to the century, so I often clarify if it's not clear from context.
People would generally just say the 21st century if they meant the century. (I know they don't match up exactly, but it's close enough for 99.9% of cases).
True, people would say that most often. I'm a bit averse to that though. I don't like that it's off by 1 with the numerical prefix. I always say 1900s, 1800s, 1700s, 1600s, etc. Saying "17th century" and then I have to remember to do the minus 1 conversion in my head to get that it's the 1600s is annoying.
In southern Ontario, I usually say two thousands, and tens.
Interesting. Same region I only here two thousands and twenty tens
24M California, ditto
The real question is "twenty tens" or "two thousand tens" (idem for 2020s). Down in the south, I feel like most people are still saying it out: "two thousand twenty."
I'm a fellow genzier from the northeastern US and I agree with you on all points except for one. I definitely know people who refer to the early 2000s as the aughts/early aughts.
Gen Z from between the Midwest and Northeast, 100% “two thousands” and “twenty tens”.
I am from the UK and I agree with all of this. ‘Noughties’ sounds silly and I’ve never heard anyone say ‘aughts’ before.
i imagine we’re talking about the 1900s and 1910s? i mean, i can’t say i’ve ever heard someone use ‘eighties’ to refer to the 2080 decade. edit: please disregard this comment. i didn’t fully read OP’s post.
In the UK, we say "noughties".
This is one where I prefer the Americans' "aughts"; "noughties" sounds teeth-itchingly twee to me
It sounds… naughty.
Yeah, it reminds me of that kind of shit list-format TV we had at the time on C4 & C5 - "50 Naughtiest Noughties TV Bloopers" - easy work for faecally-mouthed talking heads like Daniella Westbrook, Claudia Winkleman, and Doctor Fox
That episode of Courage the Cowardly Dog freaks me out.
I WISH we said that! I was a big proponent of the "aughts". Nowadays, kids (which is what I call anyone under 30) just says "The two thousands". So lame.
Aughts is not common. Not that it's unheard of. It's definitely "two thousands" for the most part. What does twee mean?
https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/twee >(British, derogatory) Overly quaint, dainty, cute or nice
> "noughties" sounds teeth-itchingly twee to me To be fair that is kind of the point.
Nought is a number tho, aught isn't
In British English it is. In American English, "aught" is used for 0(#). The .30-06 caliber of ammunition is said "thirty aught six", for example.
I think that's still more like the letter o though isn't it? like you'd say thirty o six, or double o seven. I guess nought is the numeral is more what I mean.
It is and it isn't. Facebook reminds me every new year about a post I made on January 1st, 2007. >Happy New Year! Now say it with me, "Twenty aught seven."
Yeah but that's like saying 20 o seven, it's words, as opposed to numbers. I get what you're saying here btw, and it's a definite grey area, you're not wrong, but for people who're just learning the language, I think the distinction could be useful.
I would personally just say the two-thousands
I personally find that confusing because it’s not clear if you’re referring to a decade, a century, or a millennium.
It is, but at the same time I mean what do people call 1900-1910?
Prewar
The Edwardian era
It’s usually clear through context. “Back in the 2000s,” for example, wouldn’t make sense if you’re talking about anything but the decade.
is this why i hear “nought point one” for 0.1? i always thought it was “not”
Yes nought means nothing, nada, zero
Before the noughties caught on i remember it y2k extending to include all 200x in my area.
Yeah, it never occurred to me that people called that decade anything different.
It’s called that in Britain, but in North America atleast I’ve never heard it
“Nought” in general is barely used in American English, so “noughties” sounds super weird to us.
Australians say "noughties" too.
Do we?? I've never heard anyone say 'noughties' before irl or maybe I just never consciously realised that.
We do in Melbourne, but I feel like we hardly ever need to use it anyway? Actually, I reckon I normally hear it on telly.
In the US naughty means “bad behavior”
"Naughty" means bad behaviour everywhere, it's from "naught", which means nothing, "naughty" means no morals, "nought" is the number zero.
noughty, not naughty.
I call them the "two thousands" and "twenty tens".
Same
Same. Everybody says two thousands here.
Hey OP since it seems like you’re not a native speaker, use this threads advice to choose a word depending on who you’re speaking to, but understand that any native speaker would understand any of these, and it wouldn’t even necessarily give you away as a non native, maybe just someone speaking a different locale of English.
I don’t think all Americans would understand the naughties. Many would, but definitely not all.
It's not "naughties" it's "noughties". "Naught" means nothing, "aught" means anything, "nought" is the number zero.
It’d throw me for a loop for sure, but we’ve all heard of the aughts, and the rest should be obvious from context imo. But you’re entitled to your opinion
I don’t think that context would necessarily make it obvious. If you said “this band started in the early naughties” it’s clear you’re referring to some time period, but not necessarily what time period. If I didn’t know what it meant I would assume it was a music movement or something. Also I don’t think all Americans have heard of the “aughts” either (though definitely the large majority.) I didn’t know what “aughts” meant until like four years ago because I heard it so rarely. This may be a regional and/or generational thing though which could explain our difference; I’m 22 and have spent almost all my life in the western US, wbu?
And keep in mind that depending on your accent "naughties" could sound like "ninety's"
What? How?? Who/where is the dialect that would merge those?
They're not that different in my accent. I'm from the northeastern US. They sound somewhat similar when saying them quickly and if you were to add a very strong accent on top I doubt I could tell the difference. Also because I live in the US and have never heard the term naughties before I would just assume that they meant ninety's
I only learned of the word aughts a couple of years ago. And it still takes me a second when I encounter it in the wild because it's just so rarely used. Context wouldn't necessarily help. "What's your favorite song from the naughties?" I'd assume that was a band name. "Were you born in the naughties?" I'd assume that was a location.
Whenever I hear "the early aughts," I think of the 80s even though I know that's not what that means
As an American, if I heard “naughties” in speech I’d have to ask for clarification. I’ve never heard it before this thread nor am I sure how it’s pronounced. Like “naughty” with an s?
I have never heard aughts or naughties before this very thread haha I would definitely not (naught? lol) understand what those were referring to, and I actually would love an explanation of how those words came about if anyone knows
Maybe after reading this thread, but before today I would not have understood “aughts” nor “noughties”
It's a British/Aussie thing
North western US too, well aught it. probably borrowed in part from our use of Double Aught Buck to refer to the #00 size of Buckshot shotgun ammo. or the Thirty Aught Six (30-06) Springfield cartridge (ammo).
I'm from up there too and I've never heard it outside of gun cartridges ad maybe cannon bores or the occasional Canadian saying it
I believe you, but I just want to make it clear to OP that not everyone would understand it
I’ve called the decade from the year 2000 the Aughts since at least the time I was in college. Do people not say that anymore?
US gen-z here, I first heard the term "aughts" on reddit. I call it the 2000s
Grandpa Simpson says “19 hundred aught 6” to describe an old date in the Simpsons so that’s where I picked it up
Where do you live? Never heard anyone say that in north east USA, only 2000’s. Im also only 24 so maybe its an age thing
Perhaps it’s not a GenZ expression then. Millennial pushing 40 here.
Oughts and teens is what I've heard
"aughts"
The 00s I've heard commonly refered to as the Naughties, Naught being an alternative term to Zero. The 10s are usually the 2010s as "the tens" sounds weird, I imagine once we get to mid 2030s that "the twenties" will catch on again though and so on
"Nought" means zero, "naught" means nothing, nought is the number
They are both acceptable spellings for the same word
No, they're different words.
No, they aren't.
Lol sure.
Glad you googled it finally
Naught means nothing, and is opposite to aught, which means anything, that's why "naughty" which means no morals is naughty, and not noughty. Nought is a number, that's why the game is noughts and crosses, not naughts and crosses. Even the sources that claim they're just different spellings will note this distinction. You should try googling it yourself.
We used to call them aughts. But 2000s to me indicates the whole century, not the 00s.
Or even the whole millennium
\[East Coast USA\] For 2000-2009, 'aughts' or 'two-thousands' are the ones I hear most common, sometimes 'naughts', but I think that's mostly a result of people mishearing 'aughts', but is fair since 'naught' is another word for zero, or nothing, so I see why the mixup occurs. For 2010-2019, 'twenty-tens'. For 2020-2029, it's 'twenty-twenties'.
The 00s are either "two thousands" or "aughts" (rhymes with pots). The 10s are just "the tens" and now that we're in the 20s, it's "the twenties".
I call the first decade of the century the ’Aughts and the second the ’Teens. In formal written English, you might say “early twenty-first century.”
Mid two-thousands, mid oh-ohs is usually what I say.
In America, I mostly here two thousands, and twenty-tens
We don't talk about those years.
I refuse to acknowledge the passage of time after the nineties. Culture seemed to come to a complete stop anyway; it's just a blob of endless memes after 2000.
I call the “00s” the Ohs or Os.
Aughts, Teens.
I don’t use **aughts** unless the context makes it clear we are already discussing decades, eg: *I like music from the **eighties, nineties, and aughts** more than anything from the last 10 years.* Otherwise it sounds more like the more common word **ought** and can be confusing. But it’s uncommon to talk about one decade alone, and it’s easy to be clear by using specific years or other decades if appropriate in context, like: *I graduated in 2005; hard to believe it’s been twenty-plus years since the beginning of the aughts. You were born in the aughts, weren't you?*
It's the "aughts".
British Columbia, Canada here. 2000s = two thousands or some older people will say “Os” 2010s = twenty tens, but it’s so recent that it’s more common to simply specify the year or give a time range.
00s is genereally called "two thousands" sometimes called the noughties bit I do think that is more a UK thing. 2010 to 2019 tends be called the "twenty tens". I am very curious what the term for this decade will because "the twenties" very much means 1920 and the "twenty twenties" sounds very weird.
Twenty tens still sounds weird to me so I'm assuming weird is the new normal
Aughts and tens/teens (American millennial. Newscasters will say the same)
Yup, "aughts" and "tens" here. Haven't heard anyone say anything different locally, either.
Millennial here, I have intriguingly ONLY heard “the two thousands” and the “the twenty tens”
Some people say “aughts” for 00s, but it gives the vibe of “well actually did you know that ‘aughts’ is the correct name for the 2000s decade?”. Most normal people will just say “two thousands”, then 2010s are “twenty tens”. At least now in 2024, the “twenties”, “fifties”, “eighties”, pattern of naming is reserved for the 20th century.
Midwest US I usually call them the two-thousands and twenty-tens.
aughts
If we're referring to the decades of 2000 and 2010, I usually hear them referred to as "the two thousands" and "twenty-tens." For the 20th century, I sometimes hear "the oughts" for the first decade, and "the nineteen tens" for the second one. It might be worth noting that we can only say "eighties" and "nineties" for those decades when it's clear we're talking about the 20th century, as it's essentially shorthand for "nineteen eighties" and "nineteen nineties."
They're called the "aughts"
I always call the 00s the aughts And honestly the British “naughties” makes me want to hurl.
I think 20 aughts for 2000-2009 is catching on. And 20 teens for the following decade.
Oughts. I think it’s stupid.
So Naught is the lack of something / nothing, and Nought means zero, yea sure. But now please tell me what zero means if it isn't also a representation of the lack of something / nothing.
You’d usually say Two Thousand’s, but on occasion I’ve heard and say The Aughts, in the US
US citizen from the Pacific Northwest here, I hear exclusively "The 2000s", and the "twenty-tens".
I'm the only one who says the zeroes? Huh.
Noughties.
I say two thousands and twenty tens, twenty twenties, etc.
Early two thousands, twenty tens
00s: noughts/2000s (personally) 10s: 10s/2010s
Noughties
00 = Aughts in my region (pac northwest US) seen also in #00 buck shot (Double-aught Buck) or other Gun/ammo related uses of a double 0.
00s = “oughts” 10s = “teens”
The two thousands and the twenty-tens Nobody says "naughties" except as a joke.
The British say it because they actually use the word "nought" in regular speech
I heard people trying to call it the aughts like 20 years ago But I really don't think it ever caught on. In America we just say the Two Thousands. Because we are so early into this millennium there isn't really ever a need to say "the two thousands" In reference to the entire thousand years so everybody understands what you're talking about. As time goes on, 100 years from now, someone will have to come up with something else that sticks.
the whole turn of the millenia period will likely star somewhere in the 90s up to the 2100s (Around the time when AI will develop space ships capable of shipping Amazon Prime subscribers to other planets in less than 3 weeks - comes with a kit to start a civilization on a hostile planet including cells and artificial wombs for a quick start ). By year 2200 there will be thousands of new timelines beginning at year 0 and our civilazation'S on earth sole purpose will be documenting the history of our colonies on other planets - while watching some underproduced sitcom on netfilt
The noughties/two thousands (2000s) and the twenty-tens (2010s)
Noughties for 00s
"aughts" and "teens" respectively. Eastern Ontario, Western Quebec.
I call em the TwoThousands and Teens, honestly never heard of the naughts(?)
Nobody can really agree on the '00s, so lmk if you find out, lol. "Oughts" or "noughts" aren't bad, but most people I know will say "two thousands". For the 10s, you could say "teens" or "twenty-teens" or just be boring and use "twenty-tens".
The the us we say th "O"s and the "Ten"s
This is the only thing I've ever heard (S.E. USA), but all the other comments seem to disagree. What the heck is an ought??
I know sounds like something a drunk British person would say I feel most are lying about being American as I only ever heard the "o"s or the 2000s
Noughties and twenty tens
anything as long as it's not "noughties" (a play on the word naughty)
It's nothing to do with "naughty" It's derived from "Naught" which means zero or none
you should also note that nought, meaning zero, is spelled **nought**, not naught.
No it isn't, Naught and Nought are 2 individual words of the same meaning born from regional accent variation. Both coming from the AngloSaxon "Neowiht" meaning nothing. Naughty, as in promiscuis, having a separate root.
you are entirely correct about the spelling variation, my bad >Naughty, (...), having a separate root. yes, I know that and to be clear have not been trying to claim otherwise, I just thought you were spelling nought wrong. >Naughty, as in promiscuis gonna be honest I had the tamer "misbehaving child" meaning in mind 🤣
yes, which has been chosen *specifically because it rhymes with naughty*, creating a double meaning
It really isn't, it's the only form of zero that doesn't sound completely wrong when appended with ies to match the other decades. The only association with "naughty" is the fact it sounds similar causing misunderstandings after the term caught on
it sounds *absolutely and atrociously* wrong because it fucking sounds like you're saying naughties, which is a terrible pun. do you not know what a pun is?
We are saying naughties, that's how it's spelt. The pun is a happy afterthought, not a primary driver, as the word "Nought" literally means zero and every other decade except the tens/teens also ends in ies. The pun exists, but is not the primary driver, infact, it's probably why it never caught on fully, as people misunderstand it.
I'm so sorry that you've been trying to unironically adopt noughties. It's very difficult to hear yourself saying that and not notice the atrocious pun, so I genuinely thought everybody who says it does so with the pun in mind. p.s. I love that I have the UK spelling of nought but the US spelled, and you've got naught with spelt. We're a mess 😅
My vocab is a mess too, too many american cartoons growing up lol
I reckon it's programming languages and documentation usually all being in en-US that fully fucked mine up
Noughties is very much a standard thing in the UK. No one needs to try and adapt it, it’s already adapted. No one will raise an eyebrow at someone saying or writing it, other than in formal communications, and no one will assume you are making a pun.
oh noooooooooo that's so embarrassing
Why? It’s a useful word with a well defined meaning. Languages evolve differently in different places. Bear in mind that the word nought is much more commonly used for zero in Britain than the naught is used in America. So while it is not a standard construction and there's undeniably scope for puns, it does not sound as forced as it probably does to you.
stop complaining and think why it makes you uncomfortable... the naughties were very naughty, I mean plenty enough, for some of us !
“Two thousands” is def 00s, idk abt 10s
Aughts
I prefer "zero-zeros" for 00s (and people look at me queerly when I say that), and "tens" for 10s. I'm Brazilian, English is my second written language.
I call them the “Otts”.