Wednesday, July 2, 2008

My Twenty-ninthety-twooth birthday!

Yesterday was my twenty-ninethey-twooth birthday!

Wait. If we follow Bilbo Baggin's method (eleventy-first), that makes it sound like I'm 292 years old.

Twenty-ninth-dash-two. Twenty-nine-dash-twooth? Twenty-ninth version 2.0? Twenty-nineth the Second. (29 II). Twenty-nine-d2. That makes it sound like I need to toss a coin 29 times. (Gaming reference. D2 would mean a two-sided die, which doesn't exist, see, so...never mind.)

Twenty-ninth-take-two. And, assuming I don't get it right, I'll try twenty-nine-take-three next year. But if it takes me 9 or 10 tries to get it right, that implies I'm pathetic.

I can say twenty-nine two-point-oh. I can write 29: 2.0

That sounds like a ratio.

My twenty-ninth birthday v. 2.0. That sounds like a Supreme Court case.

Twenty-ninth and two-tenths. Two tenths. Twenths?

My twenty-nine-twenth birthday!


I begin to see why women just fib and say, "twenty-nine."


Anyway, the question is not how to write the cardinal number, but rather how to write, and say, the ordinal number.

Suggestions?

(I could just say "thirtieth," but that's way too simple। And, speaking of court cases, it sets a very bad precedent!)

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