Hunter's Moon Posted June 18, 2013 Share Posted June 18, 2013 This is a spin off of the this week/next week thread. I have come across a few people, who when saying midnight on Monday actually mean Tuesday 12 am. I assume they mean it was 11:59 pm Sunday night and is now 12:00 am Monday morning. This is especially confusing when talking about midnight movie viewings, or midnight services at church. Has anyone else run across this issue? I am not bashing people who do this, I am just curious if it is as common as it seems to me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs Mungo Posted June 18, 2013 Share Posted June 18, 2013 I think it is a pretty common, conventional use. If I go to the midnight movie on Friday night, I am heading out on Friday night. I think that is how most people use midnight instead of using 12 am. I have noticed at some book/game releases that they will use 12:01 am Saturday morning to avoid confusion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kathryn Posted June 18, 2013 Share Posted June 18, 2013 In general, I agree that midnight would be the first minute of a new day. However, with things like movies, I think of it as the night before. The movie theaters around here open in the afternoon and run until late evening, and have midnight shows on weekends. I think of the Friday midnight show as the one that occurs at the end of their Friday operating hours, so actually the first minute of Saturday. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hunter's Moon Posted June 18, 2013 Author Share Posted June 18, 2013 If I go to the Friday midnight viewing, I see it as leaving on Thursday night. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs Mungo Posted June 18, 2013 Share Posted June 18, 2013 If I go to the Friday midnight viewing, I see it as leaving on Thursday night. That isn't the conventional use of the phrase. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hunter's Moon Posted June 18, 2013 Author Share Posted June 18, 2013 That isn't the conventional use of the phrase. And that is what I don't understand. In your use of it, it is really Saturday at midnight. But I understand the terminology to mean something different. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs Mungo Posted June 18, 2013 Share Posted June 18, 2013 And that is what I don't understand. In your use of it, it is really Saturday at midnight. But I understand the terminology to mean something different. It isn't my personal use. It is the way it is conventionally used in my experience. If I want to see a movie that is advertised as "the Friday midnight movie," then I need to head out on Friday night. It has been that way everywhere I have lived. But, this *is* why pretty much nothing happens at midnight in the military. If anything, it will be at 0001. The military basically considers that minute as belonging to the previous day because it is 2400, not 0000. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poppy Posted June 18, 2013 Share Posted June 18, 2013 I think you're being a bit rigid and pedantic. Midnight usually means "really late" not "first thing in the morning", so if a person says "going to the midnight show Friday" they mean they are going to the late show on Friday, not the very first morning show Friday (which is Thursday night). A midnight book or game release is the same thing. It's meant to convey the idea that this is so exciting that people stay up late and go out after the normal business hours to take part in it. But sometimes it's the other way. Midnight Mass at Christmas is 12 a.m. on December 25. So you have to look at context with this one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs Mungo Posted June 18, 2013 Share Posted June 18, 2013 But sometimes it's the other way. Midnight Mass at Christmas is 12 a.m. on December 25. I am not Catholic, but I think most Midnight Mass announcements I see call it a Christmas Eve mass? For example, from Wiki: Midnight Mass is a Christmas Eve liturgical tradition in the Roman Catholic Church. Midnight Mass may ... It may not be the world's most reliable source, but it does reflect common thought. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poppy Posted June 18, 2013 Share Posted June 18, 2013 I am not Catholic, but I think most Midnight Mass announcements I see call it a Christmas Eve mass? In my experience, Christmas Eve Masses are the evening before, usually at 6 or 7. It's a very family friendly setup, really. There are Christmas Eve Masses, then Midnight Mass, then Christmas Morning masses. They're all a little different but most people attend only one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ravin Posted June 18, 2013 Share Posted June 18, 2013 If I say "Midnight Friday Night", it means the same as "Saturday at Zero Dark Nothing" or "Midnight Saturday morning" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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