Reply #54: Are you sure about this? [View All]

[Iowa]

I just heard Obama live (in Iowa City) use these exact words: "...until you are 26 years old". Many web sites are saying the same thing. So if what you are saying is true, why would he say that? If the correct answer is until the 27th birthday, it would make no sense to say "until you are 26 years old". Instead you'd say something like, "until you turn 27", or "until you are 27 years old", or even "through age 26", right?. Do you see what I'm saying? Is Obama just getting it wrong?

Or is this a regional language thing or something? If I were to say, "until you are 26 years old", would some areas of the country take that to mean until the last day you are 26? Or to put it another way, if I were to tell my daughter that she couldn't go on a date until she was 16 years old, would some areas of the country take that to mean the day before she turns 17? Because if I told my daughter that she couldn't go on a date until she was 16 years old, she'd be counting the days until her 16th birthday - not her 17th. Are some areas different?

The problem is, I can find multiple sources that say two different things, yet nowhere have I found a solid explanation of why this is, or an ironclad explanation of which one is correct.

Thanks for your reply.