four score and seven years ago

English - English

Definition of four score and seven years ago in English English dictionary

As an opener, a sometimes sarcastic indicator to indicate a past event being mentioned is particularly important

Hyphenation

four score and sev·en years a·go

Turkish pronunciation

fôr skôr ınd sevın yırz ıgō

Pronunciation

/ˈfôr ˈskôr ənd ˈsevən yərz əˈgō/ /ˈfɔːr ˈskɔːr ənd ˈsɛvən jɜrz əˈɡoʊ/

Etymology

() In Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address, he used this (at the time) commonplace measure of score, meaning "20 years". In modern language, it would be simply "87 years ago". However, the widespread notoriety of Lincoln's address, the unusual wording and its status as the first words of the speech have caused the phrase to enter the public consciousness.