From: Charles (charles@agenoria.fsnet.co.uk)
Date: Wed Mar 30 2005 - 15:09:46 CST
Arcane Jill wrote:
> But no, the '#' symbol is not used in that context in Britain. Hey - we
> went
> metric a long time ago! The international abbreviation for the mass unit
> we use
> is "kg" (kilograms). The old abbreviation for the old Imperial "pound" is
> still
> recognised though - it is "lb".
Officially, perhaps, but a lot of us still use pounds and ounces for
domestic purposes. When it comes to personal weights, of course, neither
"lb" nor "kg" will do; many of us still use the traditional "stone"!
I would use "hash" to describe the "#" key on a telephone keypad or computer
keyboard, and this meaning of the word is included in the Oxford English
Dictionary. The "#" as a number sign I would regard as relatively
uncommon in British usage by comparison with "No." (U+2116).
Charles Cox
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