End at 3 and 50. Through to me means end at the end of the time/age period, (movie over at 4, and benefits until turn 51. Suppose there is a legal meaning and a daily usage meaning.

I agree with tibs. I was in insurance for 18 years (and kept a person covered until midnight of the day of the birthday, rate changes until that day, etc.) and age 50 is 50 is 50... until you're 51 on the nose. Was it different before?

I suspect we have had these ambiguities for a long time, but it's neat when you sit down and think about it. I really had to wrap my mind around when the new millenium came to pass. Not at midnight transitioning from 1999 to 2000, but when 2000 hit 2001, or am I confused again? LOL. Of course everyone celebrated/lived in fear at Y2K but it wasn't the new millenium........yet.

We have a very rich, but very confusing language.

To me, it means "until". If I went to the movies and it said "1 to 3", I'd be frustrated if it lasted for another hour.

Same for the hypothetical benefit. I bet there aren't many companies that would give an extra year for anything!

I learned today just how exacting "legal" language can be. I send a form to the insurance to change my DD's name back to her maiden name. There are three contingent beneficiaries and I said "33.3%" for each. The insurance company informed me that "33.3" doesn't add up to 100%, so I had to submit another form, making it "33 1/3%" for each of them. Sure seems like a hassle to me, but I guess it could cause problems for someone in the future.

I think, strictly, legally and technically, 'to' is incorrect as well - it ought to be "until" which I think got abbreviated to 'to'.

40 until 50. 1 until 3.

Or is that just a Brit. usage?

interesting thread. So what do you do about the dash? Does it mean to or does it mean through? For instance..look at these two sentences 1. The teenage years are 13-19. 2. Library hours are 1-5:30.

To mean just that....when the parameter has been reached....and here's insurance speak, as long as the condition exists, meaning as long as you are still 50.
But...in the insurance and pension world you are 50 as soon as you are 49 1/2 and one day.....and fifty for the next year....and when you hit that half birthday, the rate books mean you pay a higher premium.
Until means "when the stated condition or date or age begins" and through means "as long as the stated age or condition exists".
So, if you are invited to a party from 5 to 10....you are to leave at 10....if you are to work at the store from 5 through 10 you leave at 11.
Linda C

That dash is interesting, although I don't think I've ever seen it used as meaning "through" numerically. The teenage years are 13-20... are 13-19... no, the nineteen looks strange and sounds out of step.

The "to" usage has come up in my office. A defining phrase in meeting a certain disability criteria is that the student be "aged 2 to 5, inclusive." I read that as a double whammy, with "to" meaning 'until' and 'inclusive' reinterating that the ages must be within that limit of numbers, from the second birthday until the 5th birthday. This is the meaning the office has upheld for a great many years, but a couple years ago a few teachers and a lot of parents really began to push the envelope, insisting that the definition meant *through* the age of five. By this year, it seems to be a common perception among the staff that criteria are met until the sixth birthday. Commonness doesn't make it a *correct* perception, although it could lead to a change in the definition. Personally, I'd rather see the definition re-written to have more clarity, instead having a confusion.

Meldy's is what I came to learn it as the standard in my office (health and disabilty insurance, not life or retirement) "By this year, it seems to be a common perception among the staff that criteria are met until the sixth birthday". Linda, I find it interesting you say you work 5 though 10, meaning until 10:59:59. I've never heard it that way, but then we always say, e.g. I work 9 to 5, and you quit right at 5:00:00, even among lawyers, MDs and PhDs (meaning, it's not lack of education, only different here). It may just be different in Tennessee than in Virginia or Iowa rather than a change in usage. Maybe?