I was born in what we sometimes refer to in English as the sixties, that is, the 1960s. I went to grade (elementary) school and high school in the seventies, went to college in the eighties, and worked and went back to college in the nineties. All that is easy to explain. But what do Americans call the next decade (ten years), from 2000 to 2009, that ends today? How do I say, for example, I began working on a podcast during this time period?
This question was often asked ten years ago, in 1999, and various words were suggested then. One idea was to call this decade the “aughts,” since aught is a British English term for zero. But Americans almost never use this word, and it did not catch on (become popular). Other solutions include “the two thousands,” “the double ohs” (oh means zero), and “the double zeros.” Again, none of these became popular. The truth is that, at least in the United States, there is no commonly accepted term to refer to the decade that ends today.
In Britain, where “aught” is actually used as a word for zero, the term “noughties” has become popular to describe this decade. “Noughties” sounds like “naughty,” which is a word you might use with a young child to describe something bad or wrong (for an adult, it is also an informal, somewhat humorous term for something that is related to sex). No doubt (probably) the British think they are being rather clever (smart) in choosing that term. But Americans have not adopted it. Right now people just avoid referring to this decade with a single name.
Another solution would be to see what we called the last “00” decade, 1900-1909. Unfortunately, Americans one hundred years ago had the same problem we have today, and they never really came up with (invented) a good term! And what about previous centuries – say, 1800-1809 or 1500-1509? Apparently, it was not common to use a single term to refer to a decade before the 19th century, so the question never came up (was never asked).
I therefore propose we call the years 2000 to 2009 “the Whatchamacallit Decade.” Whatchamacallit is an very informal term we use for something that we can’t think of or don’t know the name of. It probably comes from the expression “what you may call it,” and is sometimes used humorously (as a joke). You might say, “Give me that whatchamacallit sitting on the table there” to refer to something on the table. It can be used with any object. Since we don’t really know what to call this decade, whatchamacallit seems as good a choice as any (as good as any other choice).
There! I’ve solved the problem of the decade – you know, the Whatchamacallit Decade. (You’re welcome, America.)
May you and everyone you know have a happy and peaceful New Year!
~Jeff
Here is a story that appeared in the Los Angeles Times recently that caught my eye (got my attention). The headline is:
I recently found a book called 
You probably already know about the H1N1 virus, also called the swine flu virus. The word swine refers to pigs, which scientists believe are the origin of this particular influenza or flu virus. Although pharmaceutical (drug-making) companies have developed a vaccine (a drug you take to prevent you from getting or catching a disease), there have not been enough vaccines produced for everyone to get one. This is a serious problem in most countries, especially here in the United States, where the government projected (predicted) that 120 million vaccines would be available by this month. In fact, less than 50 million vaccines have been administered (given) to children and adults in the United States this year.
As some of you may already know, I spent some time in Mexico during the late 1980s (it’s scary (frightening, surprising) for me to think that that was more than 20 years ago!). As a young man in my 20s, I participated in my share of (several) games of Dominoes, which was very popular in Mexico in those days (and perhaps still is?). Part of the ritual (specific actions done in a certain order whenever this particular activity occurs) was to drink some Bacardi rum (a type of alcohol) and Coca-Cola, a drink known as a Cuba Libre (literally, “Free Cuba”). Needless to say, I had the chance to drink a lot of Coca-Cola during the games, although I always limited my intake (the amount of something you drink or “take in”) of the rum. I soon discovered that the Coca-Cola made in Mexico tastes different than the Coca-Cola made in the United States. (Similarly, the Bacardi dark rum made in Mexico tastes different than the rum from Puerto Rico, which is what is sold in the United States.)