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2x4 vs 4x2

Started by desertwomble, January 16, 2011, 11:07:41 PM

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desertwomble

Okay, here's a weird one!

The common length of wood that's 2 inches by 4 inches (or 4 inches by 2 inches).

Do we call it two-by-four, or four-by-two?

I've googled it, but the results are ambiguous. So what do you folks say?

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ozmosis7

Having done some construction we always referred to them as 2x4's
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fnord33

I've only heard then referred to as 2X4.
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desertwomble

Thanks for that, guys. Here's the paragraph it'll be used in.

"Mindy's mind raced, sifting through scenarios of vengeance against the elderly educator – a staged mugging, a house fire, a crack to the back of the skull with a length of two-by-four..."

DW :cheesy:
http://chaucers-uncle.weebly.com/

www.paulfreeman.weebly.com
 
Read my most recent winning Global Short Story Competition entry:
http://www.inscribemedia.co.uk/assets/october-ebook.pdf

Ed

It depends whether you're British or American, Womble -- Brits say four by two. :afro:
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desertwomble

Hmmmmmmmm! I thought that might be what the Google results were getting at. Okay, since the piece I'm currently working on is for a British based competition, I'll use the British version for now.

"Mindy's mind raced, sifting through scenarios of vengeance against the elderly educator – a staged mugging, a house fire, a crack to the back of the skull with a length of four-by-two..." (British Version)


"Mindy's mind raced, sifting through scenarios of vengeance against the elderly educator – a staged mugging, a house fire, a crack to the back of the skull with a length of two-by-four..." (American Version)

Who would have thought wood / timber / lumber could be so interesting?

DW :cheesy:

http://chaucers-uncle.weebly.com/

www.paulfreeman.weebly.com
 
Read my most recent winning Global Short Story Competition entry:
http://www.inscribemedia.co.uk/assets/october-ebook.pdf

desertwomble

Reminds me a bit of when I was in Zimbabwe where they say, 'every Tom, Harry and Dick' instead of 'every Tom, Dick and Harry'.

DW :cheesy:
http://chaucers-uncle.weebly.com/

www.paulfreeman.weebly.com
 
Read my most recent winning Global Short Story Competition entry:
http://www.inscribemedia.co.uk/assets/october-ebook.pdf

Caz

Should be metric really, but... to the back of the skull with a lump of 100mm by 50mm... sucks. Whoops, now I'm in trouble with the EU's metric police. :bleh:
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LashSlash

...length of...?

in the english i speak we call it a two- by-four, period....... i guess its cus we dont waste words......


eg: -- the best way to puncture a tyre is with a nail driven through a two-by-four