Double oh or zero zero?

minigeff · July 2013

Right I'm sat in bed this morning and little miss know it all chirps up;

"If James Bond is known by a number, why does everyone know him as 'double oh seven' cos 'oh' is a letter, not a number. So when people say 'double oh status' etc they should be saying 'zero zero or double zero or double nought' or something like that. Ah see, think you know it all dont you? Ha! Got you thinking hasn't it? Ner ner nerner ner! I'm right and you're wrong, embarrassed I've caught you out ain't ya?...... "

This playground 'wit' proceeded to go on for some time but when she finally shut up I said I'd ask you lot and see what the general consensus is on it.

The only time 'zero' has been used was when Tiger called Bond 'zero zero seven' or something.

So grammatically should bond be known as 'double oh' or 'double zero'?

Barbel · July 2013

An earlier thread on this topic - http://www.ajb007.co.uk/topic/37031/double-o-or-double-zero/

Fleming himself was inconsistent on whether it was 0 (number) or O (letter).

Higgins · July 2013

I refer to double-egg seven

seriously, I have heard a lot of asian people spelling it zerozeroseven, in german it is also like that, double O or double0 leads to the toilet {[]

Thunderbird 2 · July 2013

Well my Grandparents used to say "Oh" as in a number. There are other phrases they commonly used that stem from Flemings generation. "I have got the gen," "Did he fill out a chit?", "I read the bumph." I think Oh as in number falls into the same bracket.

Higgins · July 2013

* on a sidenote - you seem to have too much time on hands when you can philosophize over such a thing.

Back to the workbench and make the MR cam

The Domino Effect · July 2013

When I was young (said with a Monty Python accent), most people said 'oh' instead of 'nought' when reading telephone numbers. 'Oh' just seems to roll off the tongue better - and 'zero' was really never used in the UK at the time.

minigeff · July 2013

That settles it, oh is old speak for zero, 007 is indeed a number and mrs is just being a pedantic arse.

Ende.

Oh and bumtoys, how do I make a MR cam on my workbench when it's the cam under one of the legs that stops it from wobbling....

Napoleon Plural · July 2013

Thank you for clarifying that minigeff. Never mind 7, give Mrs Mingeff lying beside you in bed on a wind-up a 001 from us on this board...

Jedi Master · July 2013

You should ask "little miss know-it-all" to recite her (or any) phone number to you. If she starts by saying "oh seven" or "oh one one" etc you can say "HA, GOTCHA!"

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Double oh or zero zero?

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