Question
What year did the mid 1980s began?
Answer
Hello Brendan,<BR><BR>It appears that you asked this question of the Virtual Reference Desk service, once in December and once in January, so in case you didn't receive the replies to those, here they are again.<BR><BR>
<P><I>Hello, Brendan! <BR><BR>Thank you for contacting us with your information question. <BR><BR>You asked what year the mid 1980s began. <BR><BR>Since we use the word decade for a period of ten years, you can find the example or the definition of period by looking for some dictionaries. <BR><BR>At the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary (<A href=http://dictionary.cambridge.org" target=_BLANK>http://dictionary.cambridge.org</A>/ ), the definition of decade is "a period of ten years", especially a period such as 1860 to 1869, or 1990 to 1999. So, the 1980s means the period 1980 to 1989. <BR><BR>Also accrding to the dictionary, the word mid means "the middle of". <BR><BR>Although the middle of something may be a vague period of time (like the months we call Spring :- ) ), we usually say the mid 1980s for the period 1984 to 1986. (So you can guess that the mid 1980s began approximately in 1984. ) <BR><BR>For more information, please visit OneLook Dictionary Search(<A href=http://www.onelook.com" target=_BLANK>http://www.onelook.com</A>/ ) or your local libraries. <BR><BR>Does that help? <BR><BR>Best wishes for your search! <BR><BR>Sun-Ah Key, Virtual Refence Desk <BR><A href=http://vrd.askvrd.org/index.asp?id=10768">http://vrd.askvrd.org/index.asp?id=10768</A><BR><BR>and<BR><BR>Dear Brendan, <BR><BR>I never thought about when the mid-1980's began, so your question is quite intriguing! <BR><BR>I decided to begin my search for information on your question with Yahooligans! the Web Guide for Kids. (<A href=http://yahooligans.yahoo.com" target=_BLANK>http://yahooligans.yahoo.com</A>/ ) <BR><BR>I typed the word
