From: Ray Baxter <ray@...>
Date: 2006-05-11T06:27:51+09:00
Subject: Re: Thanks Ruby Quiz!Se

Charlie Bowman wrote:

> Do you guys think that the and should be removed except for floats?

No.

Google shows about 54,200 hits on "one hundred and twenty three"
but only about 42,900 on "one hundred twenty three."

I can't imagine the justification for why "and" is only proper for 
floats. "One hundred and twenty three" is idiomatic English, both in the 
US and UK.

"In the year of our Lord, Seventeen Hundred and Seventy Six."

"Four score and seven years ago."

"Four and twenty blackbirds."

Just because you can also say "seventeen hundred seventy six," "one 
thousand seven hundred seventy six," "eighty seven" and "twenty four" 
doesn't make the former improper.

-- 

Ray