# Where is the boundary between 0207 and 0208 phone numbers?



## Oswaldtwistle (Oct 13, 2008)

(A question of very little real world importance, but much anoraky interest to me!)

I've just rang a number on Mitre Bridge Estate (between North Kensington and Kensal Green) which is 0208, despite being close to the centre, and a quick google reveals all the numbers for Mitre Bridge are 0208.

Where does 0207 start?


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## Crispy (Oct 13, 2008)

0207 doesn't exist  The area code for london is 020!

These days, they're getting mixed together anyway. New lines are often 020 8xxx xxxx regardless of where they are.


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## Oswaldtwistle (Oct 13, 2008)

Crispy said:


> 0207 doesn't exist  The area code for london is 020!
> 
> These days, they're getting mixed together anyway. New lines are often 020 8xxx xxxx regardless of where they are.




Sorry, Crispy. I was getting confused with the days of 0171 and 0181 

It was a pretty anoraky thread anyway!  

 @ self for being so silly!


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## se5 (Oct 13, 2008)

It comes from 1990 when the London code changed from 01 to 071 and 081 -  with 071 becoming 0171 and then developing into 020 - 7 etc. Not that this helps with the original query - I imagine it was done on the basis of the telephone exchanges, BT/ OFCOM or whoever deciding which of the 1990 exchanges were in inner London adn which were in outer


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## zenie (Oct 13, 2008)

Crispy said:


> 0207 doesn't exist  The area code for london is 020!
> 
> These days, they're getting mixed together anyway. New lines are often 020 8xxx xxxx regardless of where they are.


 

But central uses 7 and outer used 8 after so it does kinda exist! 

I got a new line (2 years ago) and it's 020 7 and then 0, I doubt any inner london properties are gonna be 8, they'll probably be 020 3 if all the 7's have gone, which I think is already happeneing actually. TFL's new numbers are 020 3

I'd say zone 2 but maybe that's wrong......


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## skyscraper101 (Oct 13, 2008)

I'm 020 7 in Shepherds Bush, I think not far away though and it all goes 020 8


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## zenie (Oct 13, 2008)

also  @ how quick the google index is! This is the first result for 'where does 0207 start' already! 

Sadly I couldn't find the answer fail 

e2a this might help! 

http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/news/...ls/0203+to+be+third+telephone+code/article.do


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## blossie33 (Oct 14, 2008)

Might be wrong but I've always believed the 7 numbers are zones 1 and 2 and the 8 numbers are zones 3+


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## Minnie_the_Minx (Oct 14, 2008)

and then there's 020 3.

King's College Hospital is now 020 3


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## se5 (Oct 14, 2008)

blossie33 said:


> Might be wrong but I've always believed the 7 numbers are zones 1 and 2 and the 8 numbers are zones 3+



Although it is generally the case its not so clear cut as that - places like Hammersmith, New Cross etc are definitely zone 2 but 020 -8 numbers.


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## Orang Utan (Oct 14, 2008)

Crispy said:


> 0207 doesn't exist  The area code for london is 020!
> 
> These days, they're getting mixed together anyway. New lines are often 020 8xxx xxxx regardless of where they are.



I still don't understand this - London numbers either start with 0207 or 0208 - what comes after that is the individual number, so why are numbers sometimes represented like this: 020 7*** **** instead of 0207 *** ****?


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## Orang Utan (Oct 14, 2008)

zenie said:


> also  @ how quick the google index is! This is the first result for 'where does 0207 start' already!



it's not a good idea to type a question into Google like that - type something like '0207 0208 area code map' or summat.


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## quimcunx (Oct 14, 2008)

Left Turn Clyde said:


> I still don't understand this - London numbers either start with 0207 or 0208 - what comes after that is the individual number, so why are numbers sometimes represented like this: 020 7*** **** instead of 0207 *** ****?




No.  All London numbers (apart from the ones that start with 3)  start with a 7 or an 8.  8*** **** or 7*** ****.  the code is 020.


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## golightly (Oct 14, 2008)

Minnie_the_Minx said:


> and then there's 020 3.
> 
> King's College Hospital is now 020 3


 

And the confusing thing about 020 3 numbers is that you have to dial the 020 even if you're in London.


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## quimcunx (Oct 14, 2008)

blossie33 said:


> Might be wrong but I've always believed the 7 numbers are zones 1 and 2 and the 8 numbers are zones 3+




I'm in Zone 2 but my number starts with 8.


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## Orang Utan (Oct 14, 2008)

quimcunx said:


> No.  All London numbers (apart from the ones that start with 3)  start with a 7 or an 8.  8*** **** or 7*** ****.  the code is 020.


Yes, I know that but the numbers didn't have 7 or 8 in front of them before that, so it makes sense for them to be 0208 rather than 020 8


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## se5 (Oct 14, 2008)

No but you still have to dial the 7 or 8 even if you are in the London area - eg to dial Tfl the number is 020 7222 1234 - anyone in the London area can dial 7222 1234 as they are in the 020 code area


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## quimcunx (Oct 14, 2008)

Left Turn Clyde said:


> Yes, I know that but the numbers didn't have 7 or 8 in front of them before that, so it makes sense for them to be 0208 rather than 020 8




But it doesn't. 

Hapless foreign caller:  Hello what is the code for London, United Kingdom please? 
Operator:  0207, unless it's 0208.
Hapless foreign caller:  Well which?
Operator:  Well it depends if the number start with a 7 or an 8. 
Hapless foreign caller:  Okay.  The number I have starts with an 8. 
Operator:  Then the code is 0208. 
Hapless foreign caller:  Thank you. 

Hapless foreign caller  taps 0208 8769 8189 into their phone.


Hapless foreign caller is continually frustrated by getting through to an old lady in Tooting whose number is 020 8876 9818, instead of  the ''Midget Strippers R Us'' office number which is 020 8769 8189.


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## ATOMIC SUPLEX (Oct 14, 2008)

Oswaldtwistle said:


> (A question of very little real world importance, but much anoraky interest to me!)
> 
> I've just rang a number on Mitre Bridge Estate (between North Kensington and Kensal Green) which is 0208, despite being close to the centre, and a quick google reveals all the numbers for Mitre Bridge are 0208.
> 
> Where does 0207 start?



There is no such thing as 0207 or 0208 numbers. There are 020 numbers. It's the code for London.


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## ATOMIC SUPLEX (Oct 14, 2008)

zenie said:


> But central uses 7 and outer used 8 after so it does kinda exist!
> ...



Not anymore. Some are changing as numbers are left etc. There is no clear boundry anymore and what with 3 (or whatever the other number is).


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## Orang Utan (Oct 14, 2008)

quimcunx said:


> But it doesn't.
> 
> Hapless foreign caller:  Hello what is the code for London, United Kingdom please?
> Operator:  0207, unless it's 0208.
> ...


Numbers are always printed out in full, so that wouldn't happen


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## Orang Utan (Oct 14, 2008)

se5 said:


> No but you still have to dial the 7 or 8 even if you are in the London area - eg to dial Tfl the number is 020 7222 1234 - anyone in the London area can dial 7222 1234 as they are in the 020 code area


No-one types that though - you either have it saved in your phone or you type out the number in full


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## dodgepot (Oct 14, 2008)

quimcunx said:


> But it doesn't.
> 
> Hapless foreign caller:  Hello what is the code for London, United Kingdom please?
> Operator:  0207, unless it's 0208.
> ...



well illustrated, that poster.

london is 020.

i have tried to explain this to various colleagues, with little success.


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## dodgepot (Oct 14, 2008)

Left Turn Clyde said:


> No-one types that though - you either have it saved in your phone or you type out the number in full



if i'm diallling a london number from a london landline i dial it without the 020.


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## Orang Utan (Oct 14, 2008)

dodgepot said:


> if i'm diallling a london number from a london landline i dial it without the 020.



Really?


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## ATOMIC SUPLEX (Oct 14, 2008)

Left Turn Clyde said:


> No-one types that though - you either have it saved in your phone or you type out the number in full



Yes they do. I do that. I always do that. 
In fact I oftern forget to dial the 020 when I use my mobile.


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## dodgepot (Oct 14, 2008)

yes, really.


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## dodgepot (Oct 14, 2008)

ATOMIC SUPLEX said:


> Yes they do. I do that. I always do that.
> In fact I oftern forget to dial the 020 when I use my mobile.



yeah, i've dialled numbers on my mobile before and wondered why they're not working and then realised my school boy error.


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## Orang Utan (Oct 14, 2008)

ATOMIC SUPLEX said:


> Yes they do. I do that. I always do that.
> In fact I oftern forget to dial the 020 when I use my mobile.



You physically dial numbers on your mobile?


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## Orang Utan (Oct 14, 2008)

You're all weird


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## dodgepot (Oct 14, 2008)

what's weird about not having every number you might ever need to call stored in your mobile?


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## ATOMIC SUPLEX (Oct 14, 2008)

Left Turn Clyde said:


> You physically dial numbers on your mobile?



Er yes. I don't have every number in the universe stored in my phone. For instance if had to call some - (lets say) removal men to see if they were available next tuesday would I find their numbers on my phone or in the phone book?


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## Orang Utan (Oct 14, 2008)

If I ever have to look up a number, I'm sat next to a landline


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## Orang Utan (Oct 14, 2008)

ATOMIC SUPLEX said:


> Er yes. I don't have every number in the universe stored in my phone. For instance if had to call some - (lets say) removal men to see if they were available next tuesday would I find their numbers on my phone or in the phone book?



But surely you're at home when you do that?


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## quimcunx (Oct 14, 2008)

Left Turn Clyde said:


> If I ever have to look up a number, I'm sat next to a landline



And would you call 8769 8189  for midgets R us, or go to the extra bother of dialing 020 at the beginning?


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## Orang Utan (Oct 14, 2008)

quimcunx said:


> And would you call 8769 8189  for midgets R us, or go to the extra bother of dialing 020 at the beginning?



If I was looking in the Yellow Pages it would have the full number, so I'd just dial the whole thing, rather than have to think about all this 020/0208 malarkey


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## tarannau (Oct 14, 2008)

Brixton's traditionally a bit of a boundary. SW2/SW9 were 0207 zones, Herne Hill (SE24) and Streatham 0208 etc.

Sadly I'm actually old enough to remember roughly where the second set of codes correspond to as well (eg 020 7733 numbers are roughly 'normal' round my few roads) - even though people tended to move their numbers with them, you'll still find a trend in many an area.


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## Orang Utan (Oct 14, 2008)

I'm 0207 733


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## editor (Oct 14, 2008)

020 7* numbers = cool, urban hipsters
020 8* numbers = uncool, out of town yokels

Hope that clears it up.


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## dodgepot (Oct 14, 2008)

Left Turn Clyde said:


> If I was looking in the Yellow Pages it would have the full number, so I'd just dial the whole thing, rather than have to think about all this 020/0208 malarkey



it's not really a malarkey unless you make it one by not applying your brain


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## tarannau (Oct 14, 2008)

See, it works, doesn't it. Last 3 rental addresses in the same stretch were all the same too. You're fairly central Brixton right  - it changes abruptly around sodding 'Poets Corner' one end iirc.


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## tarannau (Oct 14, 2008)

editor said:


> 020 7* numbers = cool, urban hipsters
> 020 8* numbers = uncool, out of town yokels
> 
> Hope that clears it up.



I've said it before, but as lovely as my place was in Chaucer Road I felt cheapened, nay sickened by the 0208 number and SE postcode.


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## Crispy (Oct 14, 2008)

Left Turn Clyde said:


> I still don't understand this - London numbers either start with 0207 or 0208 - what comes after that is the individual number, so why are numbers sometimes represented like this: 020 7*** **** instead of 0207 *** ****?



I've half a mind to make this godawful moronic superstition a bannable offence.

*020 is the london area code*

Most numbers within london start with 7 or 8 but some start with 3. There is some geographical consistency to the distribution of 7 and 8 but it's all getting mixed up these days.

If you're dialling the 020 in london, on a landline, then you're _wasting valuable finger skin_


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## zenie (Oct 14, 2008)

Left Turn Clyde said:


> it's not a good idea to type a question into Google like that - type something like '0207 0208 area code map' or summat.


 
Wai? 



editor said:


> 020 7* numbers = cool, urban hipsters
> 020 8* numbers = uncool, out of town yokels
> 
> Hope that clears it up.


 

LOL


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## quimcunx (Oct 14, 2008)

Left Turn Clyde said:


> I'm 0207 733




No you're not. 


You're 020 7733  ****


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## Orang Utan (Oct 14, 2008)

zenie said:


> Wai?


Cos they're better search terms - you don't want to write a question in a search engine, but words that are likely to be used in pages that might contain what you are looking for.


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## Orang Utan (Oct 14, 2008)

Crispy said:


> I've half a mind to make this godawful moronic superstition a bannable offence.
> 
> *020 is the london area code*
> 
> ...



0207 and 0208 make much more sense to me - 4 4 3 is a much more elegent sequence than 3 4 4


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## zenie (Oct 14, 2008)

Left Turn Clyde said:


> Cos they're better search terms - you don't want to write a question in a search engine, but words that are likely to be used in pages that might contain what you are looking for.


 
Oh ok, I don't usually have any bother 



Left Turn Clyde said:


> 0207 and 0208 make much more sense to me - 4 4 3 is a much more elegent sequence than 3 4 4


 
I say mine 4-3-4 bad me


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## Crispy (Oct 14, 2008)

Left Turn Clyde said:


> 0207 and 0208 make much more sense to me - 4 4 3 is a much more elegent sequence than 3 4 4



It's not a matter of personal choice! Submit to the true order!


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## se5 (Oct 14, 2008)

Left Turn Clyde said:


> I'm 0207 733



the three digit number after the 020-7 of 020-8 bit of the phone number in most cases relates to the exchange and is based on the first three letters of the exchange name as dialled on a telephone - ie 733 = RED which means that it was originally connected through the Red Hill telephone exchange (think about the numbers you type to get different letters when text messaging on your mobile phone)

Another common one in Brixton is 020 7274 which is the Brixton exchange (BRI = 274) 

So in the TfL number i gave above (020 7222 1234) 222 is the exchange number which relates to ABB the exchange name is (Westminster) Abbey which is near the TfL offices.

See http://www.wifi-forum.com/wf/showthread.php?t=5412 for further info


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## zenie (Oct 14, 2008)

Crispy said:


> It's not a matter of personal choice! Submit to the true order!


 
But it's fun watching people squirm and try and shout you down when you don't care! 

and cheers se5, I looked up my old phone code, RELiance 

New one doesn't mean shit though starts with a 0.


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## Crispy (Oct 14, 2008)

I've plugged my computer into my bum and am powering it with pure rage.


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## Orang Utan (Oct 14, 2008)

zenie said:


> I say mine 4-3-4 bad me



opps. that's what I meant


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## dodgepot (Oct 14, 2008)

3 4 4 FTW.

and if i say my phone number to you as 3 4 4 please don't then repeat it back to me as 4 whatever and start confusing things because this will make me want to find you and shove phone your phone up your arse. people who do this always seem to start trying to stick extra digits into the number. first against the wall, etc.


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## tarannau (Oct 14, 2008)

Yep. I agree with the dodgepot.

The only thing more annoying is when people break up mobile numbers into stupid blocks like 077 xxx xxx xxx  or whatever. Wankers.


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## T & P (Oct 14, 2008)

editor said:


> 020 7* numbers = cool, urban hipsters
> 020 8* numbers = uncool, out of town yokels
> 
> Hope that clears it up.


 0208ist! 

I take numbers in Brixton are 020 7 then? In lowly Tulse Hill they are 020 8.

I too would be interested in seeing where the boundary lies.


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## editor (Oct 14, 2008)

T & P said:


> I too would be interested in seeing where the boundary lies.


It's the fine line between win and fail.


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## T & P (Oct 14, 2008)

tarannau said:


> Yep. I agree with the dodgepot.
> 
> The only thing more annoying is when people break up mobile numbers into stupid blocks like 077 xxx xxx xxx  or whatever. Wankers.


 When my mother gives someone a telephone number she reads it out in groups of 2 digits. Annoying as fuck.


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## HackneyE9 (Oct 14, 2008)

I remember reading that when Heseltine was setting up the London Docklands Development Corporation in the late 80s, the condition, or one of them, of moving half the City to Canary Wharf was keeping an 0171 prefix.

Shallow as well as greedy and stupid, these bankers, eh?


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## zenie (Oct 14, 2008)

T & P said:


> When my mother gives someone a telephone number she reads it out in groups of 2 digits. Annoying as fuck.


 
As couplets like the French?


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## quimcunx (Oct 14, 2008)

T & P said:


> When my mother gives someone a telephone number she reads it out in groups of 2 digits. Annoying as fuck.




Is she _foreign_?


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## Bungle73 (Oct 14, 2008)

I don't understand why the have to keep mucking about with the numbers in the first place!  First is was 01, then 071/081, then 0171/0181 and now 020. If they needed to change it to make more numbers why didn't they just change it once instead if a million times?


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## teuchter (Oct 14, 2008)

The confusion is all BT's fault, for creating 071 and 081 in the first place as separate codes, and then expecting everyone to understand that when we went back to 020 we only had one code again (like it was with 01).

The more sophisticated amongst us grasped this concept without too much difficulty - unfortunately some got left behind and are still floundering.


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## teuchter (Oct 14, 2008)




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## PacificOcean (Oct 14, 2008)

Where does 020 8 end?

I am 01992 yet the rest of Enfield is 020 8.


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## teuchter (Oct 14, 2008)

PacificOcean said:


> Where does 020 8 end?
> 
> I am 01992 yet the rest of Enfield is 020 8.



It ends at your front gate.


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## quimcunx (Oct 14, 2008)

teuchter said:


> The more sophisticated amongst us grasped this concept without too much difficulty - unfortunately some got left behind and are still floundering.



I'm not sure we should still, strictly speaking, let Crispy be part of our sophisticat club, what with him plugging his computer into his bum and all.


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## quimcunx (Oct 14, 2008)

PacificOcean said:


> Where does 020 8 end?
> 
> I am 01992 yet the rest of Enfield is 020 8.




http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/020


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## Ms T (Oct 14, 2008)

tarannau said:


> I've said it before, but as lovely as my place was in Chaucer Road I felt cheapened, nay sickened by the 0208 number and SE postcode.



I have an SE24 postcode and an 020 7 number.  I win!

And friend who live on Milton Rd, which is further away from Brixton than Chaucer, have 020 7 as well.


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## rennie (Oct 14, 2008)

I lived on the flat end of Brixton Hill many moons ago and had an 0208 number. I moved 2 blocks towards central Brixton and the numbers started with 0207.


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## trashpony (Oct 14, 2008)

My neighbour upstairs has an 0207 number and mine is 0208. Go figure


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## paolo (Oct 14, 2008)

trashpony said:


> My neighbour upstairs has an 0207 number and mine is 0208. Go figure



No no no. You both have 020 numbers.


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## quimcunx (Oct 14, 2008)

trashpony said:


> My neighbour upstairs has an 0207 number and mine is 0208. Go figure





paolo999 said:


> No no no. You both have 020 numbers.



Quite.


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## Orang Utan (Oct 14, 2008)

I contend that you can only say you have an 020 number if a London number could start with any number between 0-9, but they only start with 7, 8 and 3, so 0208, 0207 and 0203 are correct formulations.


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## trashpony (Oct 14, 2008)

paolo999 said:


> No no no. You both have 020 numbers.



You are so right


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## quimcunx (Oct 14, 2008)

Left Turn Clyde said:


> I contend that you can only say you have an 020 number if a London number could start with any number between 0-9, but they only start with 7, 8 and 3, so 0208, 0207 and 0203 are correct formulations.



Contend all you wish.  You'd stil be wrong.   


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/020



> Sub ranges
> 
> With the introduction of the (020) area code, telephone numbers were changed from 7-digits (xxx-xxxx) to 8-digits (xxxx-xxxx) with the following sub-ranges:
> 0xxx xxxx
> ...


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## Orang Utan (Oct 14, 2008)

That proves my point


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## dodgepot (Oct 14, 2008)

no it doesn't  it proves that 020 is the london dialling code!


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## teuchter (Oct 14, 2008)

Now you are going to have to argue that the codes are 0203, 02079, 02081, and 02089. Otherwise you'll look silly.


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## Orang Utan (Oct 14, 2008)

O201 national dialling only


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## ATOMIC SUPLEX (Oct 14, 2008)

Left Turn Clyde said:


> O201 national dialling only



No 

020 1*** **** 
020 0*** **** national dialing only 


> *National Dialing Only ranges*
> These ranges have subscriber numbers beginning with the digits '0' or '1', eg:
> 01332 050 xxx	Derby
> 01382 006 xxx	Dundee
> ...


http://www.nationmaster.com/encyclo...e-United-Kingdom#National_Dialing_Only_ranges


020 anything else - London

I really don't see how you can't grasp this very very simple concept. 020 is the code, the next eight digits are the local number.


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## scifisam (Oct 14, 2008)

se5 said:


> the three digit number after the 020-7 of 020-8 bit of the phone number in most cases relates to the exchange and is based on the first three letters of the exchange name as dialled on a telephone - ie 733 = RED which means that it was originally connected through the Red Hill telephone exchange (think about the numbers you type to get different letters when text messaging on your mobile phone)
> 
> Another common one in Brixton is 020 7274 which is the Brixton exchange (BRI = 274)
> 
> ...



That's interesting - but my number's not on there.


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## upsidedownwalrus (Oct 14, 2008)

There's still a shop on Chatsworth Road which has its number in the '01' plus number format.


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## upsidedownwalrus (Oct 14, 2008)

RenegadeDog said:


> There's still a shop on Chatsworth Road which has its number in the '01' plus number format.



I mean to say, they haven't switched their sign in about 25 years, not that they have some exclusive special number.


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## Orang Utan (Oct 14, 2008)

ATOMIC SUPLEX said:


> No
> 
> 020 1*** ****
> 020 0*** **** national dialing only
> ...


Cos when it started, the only variation was the 7 & 8


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## xenon (Oct 14, 2008)

paolo999 said:


> No no no. You both have 020 numbers.



Worst pedantry ever!

Besides you should have picked her up for the use of "an" before a consonant.


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## paolo (Oct 14, 2008)

xenon said:


> Worst pedantry ever!
> 
> Besides you should have picked her up for the use of "an" before a consonant.



I doubt I'll ever pawn the likes of trashy on grammar


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## teuchter (Oct 14, 2008)

The pertinent question here is: what is the benefit of quoting the codes as "0207" or "0208"?


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## xenon (Oct 14, 2008)

scifisam said:


> That's interesting - but my number's not on there.




There's more here.
http://www.rhaworth.myby.co.uk/phreak/tenp_01.htm


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## paolo (Oct 14, 2008)

teuchter said:


> The pertinent question here is: what is the benefit of quoting the codes as "0207" or "0208"?



None, because they're not codes. But you already knew that, so over to the "code blind"... Come on we need to know, chop chop!


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## Orang Utan (Oct 14, 2008)

teuchter said:


> The pertinent question here is: what is the benefit of quoting the codes as "0207" or "0208"?


FLOW


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## paolo (Oct 14, 2008)

Left Turn Clyde said:


> FLOW



??


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## xenon (Oct 14, 2008)

paolo999 said:


> I doubt I'll ever pawn the likes of trashy on grammar




It's a dangerous game for me to play with my bespoke spelling.


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## xenon (Oct 14, 2008)

paolo999 said:


> ??




Always seems easier to me to remember numbers as a rythim.

so.
1234
123
1234


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## Orang Utan (Oct 14, 2008)

Bodricks insist upon the logical boring 020, but artists, people with _heart prefer the poetic and logic-defying 0207_


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## El Jefe (Oct 14, 2008)

Left Turn Clyde said:


> Bodricks insist upon the logical boring 020, but artists, people with _heart prefer the poetic and logic-defying 0207_


_

cheesy, is that you? _


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## Orang Utan (Oct 14, 2008)

El Jefe said:


> cheesy, is that you?



I did feel like I was channeling _something_, actually


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## El Jefe (Oct 14, 2008)

sure you don't just need a poo?


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## Orang Utan (Oct 14, 2008)

I do have trapped wind as it happens - all those beans....


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## ATOMIC SUPLEX (Oct 14, 2008)

Left Turn Clyde said:


> Cos when it started, the only variation was the 7 & 8



You mean that because when it started the first two numbers after the area code were seven or eight. So what? Doesn't make them the area code. Anyway what I said was "I really don't see how you can't grasp this very very simple concept. 020 is the code, the next eight digits are the local number." can you really not grasp this? You can't be that stupid.


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## Orang Utan (Oct 14, 2008)

ATOMIC SUPLEX said:


> You mean that because when it started the first two numbers after the area code were seven or eight. So what? Doesn't make them the area code. Anyway what I said was "I really don't see how you can't grasp this very very simple concept. 020 is the code, the next eight digits are the local number." can you really not grasp this? You can't be that stupid.



020 7 or 020 8, followed by your original number. Is that better?


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## ATOMIC SUPLEX (Oct 14, 2008)

Left Turn Clyde said:


> FLOW



ANDDDDDDDDDDD

Fuck flow, you are pointlessly confusing the memory process by adding three pointless numbers to the "flow" 

Geeezzz

*explodes*


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## Orang Utan (Oct 14, 2008)

It doesn't matter


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## ATOMIC SUPLEX (Oct 14, 2008)

Left Turn Clyde said:


> 020 7 or 020 8, followed by your original number. Is that better?



Well thats how they explained it to the cheap seats for the change over. Does anyone still have the same number or feel the need to cling to it's original form after nearly 20 years?


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## Tank Girl (Oct 14, 2008)

golightly said:


> And the confusing thing about 020 3 numbers is that you have to dial the 020 even if you're in London.



no you don't. unless I've got special powers


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## Crispy (Oct 14, 2008)

Left Turn Clyde said:


> It doesn't matter


Like fuck! It matters like AIDS!


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## T & P (Oct 14, 2008)

Funny how sometimes the seemly innocuous questions can become really fierce debates...   I remember the 'is South of the River the same as South London' thread a while ago that went the same way.

While it might be true that the dialling code for london is 020, the fact remains that much like transport travel zones, London used to be divided into 0171 for Central areas and 0181 for not so Central ones. It is also true (AFAIK) that when the code was changed those numbers that were 0171 became 020 *7* and those that where 0181 became 020 *8*.

As such, asking where the boundary between 0207 and 0208 lies is not such a heretic question, though to placate the pedants amongst us the OP should perhaps have asked 'where was the boundary between 0171 and 0181 numbers'.

I hope everything is cleared now


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## quimcunx (Oct 14, 2008)

xenon said:


> It's a dangerous game for me to play with my bespoke spelling.



you have lovely bespoke spelling, my dear. 



Left Turn Clyde said:


> Bodricks insist upon the logical boring 020, but artists, people with _heart prefer the poetic and logic-defying 0207_


_


Finally!  You admit you're wrong. 

_


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## teuchter (Oct 14, 2008)

T & P said:


> Funny how sometimes the seemly innocuous questions can become really fierce debates...   I remember the 'is South of the River the same as South London' thread a while ago that went the same way.
> 
> While it might be true that the dialling code for london is 020, the fact remains that much like transport travel zones, London used to be divided into 0171 for Central areas and 0181 for not so Central ones. It is also true (AFAIK) that when the code was changed those numbers that were 0171 became 020 *7* and those that where 0181 became 020 *8*.
> 
> ...



BUT new 020 8 numbers are no longer being handed out on a geographical basis. So in fact there is no boundary any more.


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## Orang Utan (Oct 14, 2008)

There's no wrong and right in the poetry of numbers


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## T & P (Oct 15, 2008)

teuchter said:


> BUT new 020 8 numbers are no longer being handed out on a geographical basis. So in fact there is no boundary any more.


 Yeah I guess so. There's also the 020 3 numbers as well, which presumably are not geography-based either.


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## xenon (Oct 15, 2008)

ATOMIC SUPLEX said:


> ANDDDDDDDDDDD
> 
> Fuck flow, you are pointlessly confusing the memory process by adding three pointless numbers to the "flow"
> 
> ...




But if you're dialing outside of London or using a mobile. you need the whole number. Therefore, 4 3 4 memory method stands.


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## xenon (Oct 15, 2008)

T & P said:


> Funny how sometimes the seemly innocuous questions can become really fierce debates...   I remember the 'is South of the River the same as South London' thread a while ago that went the same way.
> 
> While it might be true that the dialling code for london is 020, the fact remains that much like transport travel zones, London used to be divided into 0171 for Central areas and 0181 for not so Central ones. It is also true (AFAIK) that when the code was changed those numbers that were 0171 became 020 *7* and those that where 0181 became 020 *8*.
> 
> ...




Used to be just 071 and 081 before that. Way back of course all London was just 01.


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## xenon (Oct 15, 2008)

quimcunx said:


> you have lovely bespoke spelling, my dear.
> 
> Aw. thanks.
> 
> Was having a mare trying to look stuff up earlier. Google's "Did you mean" is only so much use.


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## matrix_22 (Oct 15, 2008)

editor said:


> 020 7* numbers = cool, urban hipsters
> 020 8* numbers = uncool, out of town yokels
> 
> Hope that clears it up.



Its only the folk who have the uncool 020 8 numbers that are arguing that there is no distinction between the two  those of us with the coveted 020 7 know the truth


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## se5 (Oct 15, 2008)

matrix_22 said:


> Its only the folk who have the uncool 020 8 numbers that are arguing that there is no distinction between the two  those of us with the coveted 020 7 know the truth



Sadly perhaps that was one of my main criteria for finding somehwere to live - it must be in zone 2, it must be in Lambeth and it must have an 020 -7 telephone number.


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## Oswaldtwistle (Oct 15, 2008)

se5 said:


> Sadly perhaps that was one of my main criteria for finding somehwere to live - it must be in zone 2, it must be in Lambeth and *it must have an 020 -7 telephone number.*



*Please* tell me this is a wind up


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## PacificOcean (Oct 15, 2008)

se5 said:


> Sadly perhaps that was one of my main criteria for finding somehwere to live - it must be in zone 2, it must be in Lambeth and it must have an 020 -7 telephone number.



Why would you actively choose to live in the worst, shitiest and most depressing borough in the country?

My excuse is I was born there.


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## Orang Utan (Oct 15, 2008)

PacificOcean said:


> Why would you actively choose to live in the worst, shitiest and most depressing borough in the country?


Who says?


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## PacificOcean (Oct 15, 2008)

Left Turn Clyde said:


> Who says?



Me.

Are there any good points about Lambeth that I don't know about?


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## Orang Utan (Oct 15, 2008)

PacificOcean said:


> Me.
> 
> Are there any good points about Lambeth that I don't know about?


Brixton is a nice place to live for most people


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## PacificOcean (Oct 15, 2008)

Left Turn Clyde said:


> Brixton is a nice place to live for most people



Brixton is great if you are a manufacturer of those yellow police boards.

One week I had four on my road between my house and the bus stop ranging from murder to rape.

Having said that I personally never had any trouble in Brixton.


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## ovaltina (Oct 15, 2008)

I can't memorise eight digits but I can remember seven quite easily, then I have to work out whether it's a seven or an eight. If it's a three I'll probably remember that too, because I'll be thinking three? Eh? Oh yes, three. That's right.


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## ATOMIC SUPLEX (Oct 15, 2008)

xenon said:


> But if you're dialing outside of London or using a mobile. you need the whole number. Therefore, 4 3 4 memory method stands.



No it doesn't because I know it is a london number so I don't have to remember the 020, I just have to dial it. 

Mob numbers don't have a local code.


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## xenon (Oct 15, 2008)

ATOMIC SUPLEX said:


> No it doesn't because I know it is a london number so I don't have to remember the 020, I just have to dial it.
> 
> Mob numbers don't have a local code.




I mean dialing from a mobile.


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## Orang Utan (Oct 15, 2008)

PacificOcean said:


> Brixton is great if you are a manufacturer of those yellow police boards.
> 
> One week I had four on my road between my house and the bus stop ranging from murder to rape.
> 
> Having said that I personally never had any trouble in Brixton.



You get that in any number of boroughs.
I've never had any trouble either


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## xenon (Oct 15, 2008)

xenon said:


> I mean dialing from a mobile.




e2a

Yeah alright. 020 isn't hard to remember. But when you're tapping out the whole thing, works with the 4 3 4 thing. Except you don't reckon that makes it any easier to remember the whole number. Freak


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## ATOMIC SUPLEX (Oct 15, 2008)

xenon said:


> I mean dialing from a mobile.



Welll Durrr, did you not read my last mail. I SAID YOU CAN REMEMBER 020 IS THE LONDON CODE SO YOU DON'T HAVE TO REMEMBER IT AS PART OF THE NUMBER!!!

Can't you remember 020? Have you had to look up the london code in a book every time you wanted to type 020 on this thread? 

Dumbarse.


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## xenon (Oct 15, 2008)

See edit


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## ATOMIC SUPLEX (Oct 15, 2008)

xenon said:


> e2a
> 
> Except you don't reckon that makes it any easier to remember the whole number. Freak



Yeah I reckon it is easier to remember less numbers. 

Anyway I do my mobile numbers ***** *** ***, whatever floats your boat. 
I fucking hate people who give me London numbers over the phone as 0207 345 2586 etc. I say 
"so that's 7345 2586?" 
"er 0207"
"No 020 is the London code I don't need to dial that, stop confusing the issue"
"um"
"7. 3. . . . . . ." Etc.


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## xenon (Oct 15, 2008)

Maybe they don't know you know they're in London when giving you the number.


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## zenie (Oct 15, 2008)

You're such a grumpy fucker AS!


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## ATOMIC SUPLEX (Oct 15, 2008)

Well it is one of my pet hates along with "legs Akimbo" (not possible) and the misuse of Peruse.


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## ATOMIC SUPLEX (Oct 15, 2008)

xenon said:


> Maybe they don't know you know they're in London when giving you the number.



They don't know where they are located? If you live in London or take the train to work in London everyday I'd like to think everyone could remember. This can't be too hard for you can it?


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## xenon (Oct 15, 2008)

No. Say you're asking directory enquiries for a number. The operator doesn't necesarily know you're in London and won't omit the 020 for your convenience in any case.

I think you're failing to grasp the vast array of potential scenarios here.


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## ATOMIC SUPLEX (Oct 15, 2008)

xenon said:


> No. Say you're asking directory enquiries for a number. The operator doesn't necesarily know you're in London and won't omit the 020 for your convenience in any case.
> 
> I think you're failing to grasp the vast array of potential scenarios here.



Don't be a dick, of course I mean if someone in London is giving me their number or someone else in Londons number KNOWing that I am in London. 

If it were directory enquiries, I would expect them to give me the London code (020) then the eight digit number.


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## beeboo (Oct 15, 2008)

ATOMIC SUPLEX said:


> Well it is one of my pet hates along with "legs Akimbo" (not possible) and the misuse of Peruse.



I just looked up "peruse"...and realising I've always taken it to mean "to browse/glance over", I had to ask my notoriously pedantic boyfriend, who was just as shocked as me.

You're going to have to explain the legs akimbo one to me though.


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## dodgepot (Oct 15, 2008)

zenie said:


> You're such a grumpy fucker AS!



i wouldn't say grumpy - just correct


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## teuchter (Oct 15, 2008)

beeboo said:


> I just looked up "peruse"...and realising I've always taken it to mean "to browse/glance over",



But it does mean that.


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## Minnie_the_Minx (Oct 15, 2008)

editor said:


> 020 7* numbers = cool, urban hipsters
> 020 8* numbers = uncool, out of town yokels
> 
> Hope that clears it up.


 


PFFT 

and what if you were 020 3?  You're not far from King's College matey


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## beeboo (Oct 15, 2008)

teuchter said:


> But it does mean that.



According to the dictionary it means "read or examine thoroughly or carefully"

I think it's generally taken to mean you're looking over something casually or without attention to every detail - not examining it carefully.


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## teuchter (Oct 15, 2008)

beeboo said:


> According to the dictionary it means "read or examine thoroughly or carefully"
> 
> I think it's generally taken to mean you're looking over something casually or without attention to every detail - not examining it carefully.



I've had a little look myself and it seems to depend on the dictionary

eg. Merriam-Webster



> 1 a: to examine or consider with attention and in detail : study b: to look over or through in a casual or cursory manner
> 2: read ; especially : to read over in an attentive or leisurely manner



It looks like one of those words where the meaning has shifted but certain people refuse to accept this.


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## Crispy (Oct 15, 2008)

Words 'mean' what most people interpret them as. In this case, the dictionary is out of date.


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## beeboo (Oct 15, 2008)

teuchter said:


> It looks like one of those words where the meaning has shifted but certain people refuse to accept this.



Just cos everyone is wrong doesn't make it right 

Kind of bizarre that it has morphed into the antonym of itself though.

According to the oxford dictionary, the origin of the word is to wear out.


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## beeboo (Oct 15, 2008)

I can imagine AS deliberately using "peruse" in the dictionary sense...

-"Have you perused the report?"
-"Yes"
-"What does it say on page 9 paragraph 3?"
-"I don't know"
-"I thought you said you perused it?"
-"I did"
etc...


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## teuchter (Oct 15, 2008)

beeboo said:


> Kind of bizarre that it has morphed into the antonym of itself though.



There are quite a few words that are like this, I think. I can't think of any examples right now, of course.


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## beeboo (Oct 15, 2008)

teuchter said:


> There are quite a few words that are like this, I think. I can't think of any examples right now, of course.



Until recently, I thought "nadir" meant "pinnacle" - I'll just stop feeling stupid and assume I'm ahead of the curve


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## spanglechick (Oct 15, 2008)

tarannau said:


> Brixton's traditionally a bit of a boundary. SW2/SW9 were 0207 zones, Herne Hill (SE24) and Streatham 0208 etc.
> 
> Sadly I'm actually old enough to remember roughly where the second set of codes correspond to as well (eg 020 7733 numbers are roughly 'normal' round my few roads) - even though people tended to move their numbers with them, you'll still find a trend in many an area.





Ms T said:


> I have an SE24 postcode and an 020 7 number.  I win!
> 
> And friend who live on Milton Rd, which is further away from Brixton than Chaucer, have 020 7 as well.



We are 0207 (or 020 7 ) and we're herne hill -practically in north dulwich.   However, we did move the number from Monkeygrinder's old flat, which was further toward brixton, almost next to the sainsburys in HH.


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## quimcunx (Oct 15, 2008)

Crispy said:


> Words 'mean' what most people interpret them as. In this case, the dictionary is out of date.




Yes.  Or at least eventually they do.  


I think most people get their understanding of what words mean from the context they encounter them in, rather than looking up dictionaries.   And if someone makes an interpretive mistake then repeats it, it gets to the point where most people have that understanding too, unless/until they look up a dictionary. Which would partially explain how some words end up meaning the opposite. 

For instance -  Hoi Polloi _sounds_ posh to me and evidently others, and is often used in a sarcastic tone, making interpretation more difficult.  It is understandable that people mistake it for referring to posh people rather than a word posh people would use to describe the lower classes.


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## MrSki (Oct 15, 2008)

ATOMIC SUPLEX said:


> Don't be a dick, of course I mean if someone in London is giving me their number or someone else in Londons number KNOWing that I am in London.
> 
> If it were directory enquiries, I would expect them to give me the London code (020) then the eight digit number.



I don't use businesses who have 0207 or 0208 on business cards or stationery.

One of my pet hates as well. If they can't get their own number right then I don't have much faith in them.

One good thing about the number change was it got rid of '01 for London' which was shite.


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## beeboo (Oct 15, 2008)

quimcunx said:


> For instance -  Hoi Polloi _sounds_ posh to me and evidently others, and is often used in a sarcastic tone, making interpretation more difficult.  It is understandable that people mistake it for referring to posh people rather than a word posh people would use to describe the lower classes.



I never realised there was any confusion or contention over the definition of "hoi polloi".  

I
t's a Vietnamese fish curry isn't it?


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## hipipol (Oct 15, 2008)

*Fuck me, 7 pages of twadlle*

This is NO real boundary now
We moved around 500 yards to our new home from the old and thus corssed the old "notional" boundary.
We kept the 7 prefix

So we is "cool and trendy" eh?

Good to know it!!


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## ATOMIC SUPLEX (Oct 15, 2008)

beeboo said:


> According to the dictionary it means "read or examine thoroughly or carefully"
> 
> I think it's generally taken to mean you're looking over something casually or without attention to every detail - not examining it carefully.



Sadly because of it's wide misuse, in the last two years it has come to mean both. 

Fucks me right off.


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## ATOMIC SUPLEX (Oct 15, 2008)

beeboo said:


> You're going to have to explain the legs akimbo one to me though.



All this legs akimbo shit started about 10 years ago in 'comedy circles'. 

Akimbo is a pose where you put your arms on your hips in an action style position. It is not 'arms akimbo' it is akimbo. You cannot have legs akimbo because akimbo referrers to the positioning of the arms. 

Wankers.


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## quimcunx (Oct 15, 2008)

ATOMIC SUPLEX said:


> Sadly because of it's wide misuse, in the last *two years *it has come to mean both.
> 
> Fucks me right off.



That's very precise.  I though peruse was leisurely and not necessarily thorough from when I first heard of the word, ooh, 20 years ago, until first being told different possibly 10 or more years ago.

I still think of it as a leisurely scanning.  I think that suits the word better. 

I wonder if it is it's similarity to 'browse' that makes it confusing.


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## Chz (Oct 15, 2008)

All right - to please the pedantic, and because I'm still curious, I'll rephrase the question:

*Where *was* the boundary between 0171 and 0181?*

Fucking happy now, you insane pedants?


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## ATOMIC SUPLEX (Oct 15, 2008)

quimcunx said:


> That's very precise.  I though peruse was leisurely and not necessarily thorough from when I first heard of the word, ooh, 20 years ago, until first being told different possibly 10 or more years ago.
> 
> I still think of it as a leisurely scanning.  I think that suits the word better.
> 
> I wonder if it is it's similarity to 'browse' that makes it confusing.



I've been keeping an eye on it. I noticed that it had officially been changed in the oxford English dictionary quite recently.


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## quimcunx (Oct 15, 2008)

Chz said:


> All right - to please the pedantic, and because I'm still curious, I'll rephrase the question:
> 
> *Where *was* the boundary between 0171 and 0181?*
> 
> Fucking happy now, you insane pedants?




I just googled ''0171 0181 boundaries''.  the first two links were to this thread.


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## xenon (Oct 15, 2008)

Never mind 0171. Go back to 071 and 081. 

Heard nadir used improperly on the radio today. I'd have been livid. Had I not just found out it's proper meaning half an hour before myself.


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## hipipol (Oct 15, 2008)

Chz said:


> All right - to please the pedantic, and because I'm still curious, I'll rephrase the question:
> 
> *Where *was* the boundary between 0171 and 0181?*
> 
> Fucking happy now, you insane pedants?



Cant answer for all of it, but the bit near me runs down the middle of Ivydale Road, SE15
On the North side tyuo is well trendy and cool thats the even numbers
The other side of the street you is a country bumpkin - odd nos
Plus I used to have an 0181 on Lordship lane near the south circular


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## teuchter (Oct 15, 2008)

ATOMIC SUPLEX said:


> Sadly because of it's wide misuse, in the last two years it has come to mean both.
> 
> Fucks me right off.



How do you feel about apostrophe misuse?


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## Giles (Oct 16, 2008)

HackneyE9 said:


> I remember reading that when Heseltine was setting up the London Docklands Development Corporation in the late 80s, the condition, or one of them, of moving half the City to Canary Wharf was keeping an 0171 prefix.
> 
> Shallow as well as greedy and stupid, these bankers, eh?



That's fairly small beer compared to what they are doing now, i.e. crashing the whole world's economy and demanding (no pun intended) telephone number bailouts. International telephone numbers at that.

Giles..


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## T & P (Oct 17, 2008)

quimcunx said:


> I just googled ''0171 0181 boundaries''.  the first two links were to this thread.


 Urban reigns supreme on the internets


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