0
Exodejavu Posted 17 years ago
Vocabulary
The meaning of "quarter"
I saw in a piece of Taiwan local news:
Convicted of masterminding a murder, Yen was sentenced to three years and as many quarters in prison last year.
What does this "quarter" possibily mean? Is it related to the length of sentence in prison?
That newspaper is Taiwan local English newspaper, and the reporter seems to be a Taiwanese.
I have searched Taiwan news per se in Chinese.
What I found is that he was paroled after a third of his prison term.
One meaning of "quarter" in Chinese and the meaning of "a third" are of one-character difference. And I assume that the report misuses "quarter"...but I can't be sure.
Please shed some light.
Best Regards,
Convicted of masterminding a murder, Yen was sentenced to three years and as many quarters in prison last year.
What does this "quarter" possibily mean? Is it related to the length of sentence in prison?
That newspaper is Taiwan local English newspaper, and the reporter seems to be a Taiwanese.
I have searched Taiwan news per se in Chinese.
What I found is that he was paroled after a third of his prison term.
One meaning of "quarter" in Chinese and the meaning of "a third" are of one-character difference. And I assume that the report misuses "quarter"...but I can't be sure.
Please shed some light.
Best Regards,
Top answer
The only sense I can make of it is that it means three years and three-quarters of a year; in other words, the sentence was three years and nine months. It's certainly an unusual way of putting it. I can't think of any other meaning of "quarter" that makes sense or any word that the author may have confused with "quarter".
- The only sense I can make of it is that it means three years and three-quarters of a year; in other words, the sentence was three years and nine months.
- It's certainly an unusual way of putting it.
- I can't think of any other meaning of "quarter" that makes sense or any word that the author may have confused with "quarter".
Get the Weekly English Kit 📬
New words, one handy idiom, and a 2-minute quiz — delivered to your inbox to keep your streak alive.
2 Answers
0
The only sense I can make of it is that it means three years and three-quarters of a year; in other words, the sentence was three years and nine months. It's certainly an unusual way of putting it. I can't think of any other meaning of "quarter" that makes sense or any word that the author may have confused with "quarter".
00
Related Questions