I totally get why people said it "two-thousand-one" etc. when talking about the years from 2001 to 2009. It was cumbersome and sort of odd sounding to say "twenty-oh-one." (Although, I was an occasional "twenty-oh-one-er".....)
But for the entirety of those nine years, I looked forward to being able to go back to the old way of expressing the year.
Nineteen-seventy
Nineteen-eighty-nine
Tonight, we're gonna to party like it's nineteen-ninety-nine...
And yet, here we are, three years after we've been able to say, e.g., "twenty-ten," and some people are still saying "two-thousand-thirteen." Steven Metcalf, host of one of my favorite podcasts, the Slate Culturefest, did it just today (or whenever they recorded the podcast).
Are they worried that it may sound like they're reading an eye chart?
Whereas "twenty-oh-one" was cumbersome, now, "two-thousand-thirteen" is.
So I hereby call upon the world who may or may not be listening and/or care what I think:
For the love of all that is good and sweet in the world, say it "twenty-thirteen." I think Prince would agree with me on this.
