They are the U.S. version of Imperial units, which differ somewhat from British Imperial.
Jim Elwell wrote:
At 27 08 04, 04:46 PM, David King wrote:
May I ask why so many Americans refer to imperial units as "English units"? They did not originate with the English, they are not all the same as the imperial units used in England and as the UK is officially metric I would think that the inch-pound-foot etc. units used in the USA would be better described as US units. They are never referred to as English units in England, only as imperial units, because a lot of them originated with the Roman Empire.
I think it is just habit -- we've called them "English units" for so long that everyone in America pretty much knows the term, and no one is going to call them "American Versions of Imperial Units."
I call them "colloquial" units, which is usually (but not always) understood, and is slightly derogatory.
More technical Americans sometimes use "inch-pound units."
Members of this list sometimes use:
WOMBAT -- way of measuring badly all the time FFU -- fred flinstone units
I don't use these last two because few people know what they mean.
Jim
Jim Elwell, CAMS Electrical Engineer Industrial manufacturing manager Salt Lake City, Utah, USA www.qsicorp.com
