h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

So we have definitely left the 90s, right? Various people are arguing about whether or not it's a new millenium or century, but it absolutely has to be a new decade. So what do we call it, seeing as no numerical title like eighties of twenties presents itself?

I have 3 suggestions:

1. The Noughties. Perhaps numerically correct but souonds stupid.

2. From 'Y2K'- the Tookies...

3. again from Y2K and my personal favourite- the Whities. (what you do after too much ganja or any recreationally abusable substance for that matter.)

Any further suggestions gratefully giggled over.

BTH

To upgrade this list, I have added a few more options... feel free to mock them.

The Zeroes... makes sense, but sounds rather depressing.

The Nothings... see above

The Tu-ohohoh's... (after 2-0-0-0)... it's more of a jumble than anything else

The Units... I don't know, it reminds me of elementary math

The Preteens... Generally, this term is used for something else

The Tutripleoh's... now there's a tongue twister

The 2K-nils... maybe....

It seems the English language was not designed to have a name for this particular decade... perhaps in another language it will be much easier...

I have had much of this conversation with my friends and family. No offense, but your list sounds pretty silly.
I have heard ideas like "aut." If you have ever heard an elderly stereotypical person refer to a time between 1900 and 1910 then they probably said aut followed by the year number.

So this year would be aut-0 and next year would be aut-1.
thats only one possible idea.(don't know how to write out aut phoenetically so that is my best guess)

a more practical but less interesting idea is to call this year
O-sound followed by O-sound
and next year called O-sound 1.
Not very stylish though is it. Personally I like the idea of aut-1 so i would sound like a grizzled prospector.

P.S. it's 2000: ITS THE FUTURE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Silly is good. Life is generally taken too seriously IMHBSO (in my humble but silly opinion.)

Think it's 'aught'- old Victorian contraction of 'anything', or possibly 'nought'- which shows us where it's coming from, etymologically speaking. Aught-0 is good... has a ring to it...

Ow. It's not good to try and spell 'etymologically' with a hangover...

BTH

We can (and have! ) ponder this query through any paces you like, or we can just face the fact that history will show this to be no different from any other century. When you're great great grandchildren ask, they will be told, "Your grampa was born back in aught six." Or whatever.

well dang nabbit, my pappy sure did enjoy his moon shine pie, why I remember back in aught-4 he was eating some, when the kiser came by and stole it. So pappy dun chased him all the way back to germania, but when he gotted there, the kiser had already eaten his pie. And thats how me pappy invented the aeroplane.

Just a sample of what we sound like saying aught-4 or 1 or 0.
Not that I am against the aught.

Yeah [pause] and that's the way folks sounded when talking of the 19-aughts, the 18-aughts, the 17-aughts, etc, etc, etc.. and that's the way they'll be sounding when talking of the two-thousand-aughts, the twenty-one-aughts and the 53-aughts, if we make it that far.

no . they called it the 19 hundreds and they they got back to work.. and didn't worry about it anymore . Built an incredible modern civilation had 2 world wars . put a man on the moon. And created the internet so we could discuss it . Its the 20 hundreds ( i like the naughties though ) 2010s won't be any easier .. the tens.. doesnt sound right.. by 2020 no one will care anymore . probably be universal metric time or something . living in space . i don't know about you but i could use a 100 hour day . 10 days to a week.

I've come to an executive decision that for evermore I'm going to refer to this decade as the Noughties. Noughtie-nought is, therefore, the now.

I don't care how silly it sounds. I have no shame.

And the next decade will be the Teenies.

Well I don't accept your executive order since I am an emperor. And just so we don't get into one of those infinite + 1 conversations, I say that no one has more power than me and I can over rule anything. My executive order is, call it whatever you damn well please. There is no need for an official name, and If I want to call it the Age Of Siguy then i will.
ALL HAIL THE SIGUY!!!!!!!!!!!1

No, they called the whole century the 1900s (nineteen hundreds -- or 1800s or whatever), this will be the 2000s (two-thousands). We're talking about the decade.. ten years. I've listened too long to my Great Grandfather talking of "eighteen-aught-4" and my grandfather (who was born in 1901) talking of "back in aught-9". Granted, this particular -year- will be refered to as "back in two thousand" as 1900 (the year) was referenced as nineteen hundred (rarely do you hear a year called 'double aught' but it does happen), but 2001 through 2009 will be known as the aughts (and any other cute nickname, like "Roaring Twenties" or "Gay Nineties" that it may happen to acquire later). The next decade will be the teens... "Back in eighteen we were all sitting around laughing at all the confusion we'd gone through figuring out what we were going to call the aughts."

'Nonnie

No, they called the whole century the 1900s (nineteen hundreds -- or 1800s or whatever), this will be the 2000s (two-thousands). We're talking about the decade.. ten years. I've listened too long to my Great Grandfather talking of "eighteen-aught-4" and my grandfather (who was born in 1901) talking of "back in aught-9". Granted, this particular -year- will be refered to as "back in two thousand" as 1900 (the year) was referenced as nineteen hundred (rarely do you hear a year called 'double aught' but it does happen), but 2001 through 2009 will be known as the aughts (and any other cute nickname, like "Roaring Twenties" or "Gay Nineties" that it may happen to acquire later). The next decade will be the teens... "Back in eighteen we were all sitting around laughing at all the confusion we'd gone through figuring out what we were going to call the aughts."

'Nonnie

I would've thought that the time 1900-1909 was 'the turn of the 20th century'. It would sound really cool (and futuristic) to say 'we're living at the turn of the 21st century...'

...and we'll live on both streets on either side of the corner at the turn of the 21st century - if we care to be specific and long winded about it

BTW: I like the 'noughty-noughts' and the 'teenies', although unfortunately I suspect that won't sound cool enough for our pre-pubescant civilization.

In the previous century, you could talk about nineteen-oh-one (or nineteen-one), nineteen-forty, etc. which sounded OK. This century, are we supposed to use twenty-oh-one, and twenty-forty? - to me, they don't have quite the same ring, though I suppose it may just be lack of familiarity. (Also, you can't just say 'twenty-one' without confusion)

Whatever it is needs to be short and reasonably unambiguous. How about using '2K'. Although it may bring back bad memories of Y2K hype, at least practically everyone would know what it meant.
Then this year is 2K, or 2K-nought next is 2K-one, etc. This decade is the 2K-noughts, next is the 2K-teens, after that, you can revert back to twenties, thirties, etc.

It is a one-off for this century, and does leave the problem of the 2100s open, but hey, the chances are none of us will make it that far, so who cares?.

OK, OK - someone suggested it already. Remind me not to browse and work at the same time.

I don't like using 2K at all. This year is forever going to be Y2K, but it might also be the year oh-oh. This decade might be the 00's... I also think the idea of being the 'naughties' will not catch on at all.

All I know is that I'm not going to be the one to decide, because I have never needed to refer to the decade. I'm not one of those people who cries out, 'Oh, that is soooo 90's.'

It was all for naught anyway, is what I shall tell my grandchildren.

-- Nurgling

I myself, dearest friends am of the opinion that if these years are to be the Naughty Noughties - then perhaps the spirit of the 1660s is not quite dead yet.

To quote D. Baddiel Esq - "there have been two great ages of personal and social revolution - the 1960s and the 1660s. And personally I have always preferred Purcell to the Dave Clarke 5."

All hail the 60s! They shall rise again!