Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!ncar!ico!ism780c!news
From: news@ism780c.isc.com (News system)
Newsgroups: comp.lang.c
Subject: Re: Re: Pound sign (was Re: the Telephone Test)
Message-ID: <27310@ism780c.isc.com>
Date: 11 May 89 02:24:31 GMT
References: <30092@apple.Apple.COM> <4080002@hpopd.HP.COM>
Reply-To: marv@ism780.UUCP (Marvin Rubenstein)
Organization: Interactive Systems Corp., Santa Monica CA
Lines: 18

In article <4080002@hpopd.HP.COM> apm@hpopd.HP.COM (Andrew Merritt) writes:
>  I thought the octothorp meant 'number' in US usage.
>
>Andrew

I believe the word 'octothorp' never gained currency.  I could not find it
in any of the four dictionaries that I looked in. (anyone have an OED handy?)

I hope this lays the topic to rest. Quoting form Webster's Ninth New
Collegiate Dictionary:

    #   number if it procedes a numeral <track #3>; pounds if it follows
	<a 5# sack of sugar>

So the way to pronounce #define, is "pound define" (at least in
American Engilish :-)

    Marv Rubinstein