◆ [Date updated: 2023/09/18(Mon) 15:17:20]
　■Why do people talk about 'the early 2000s' when they're referring to the 
　│whole decade? I hear people say 'the early 2000s' when they're referring 
　│to something from 2000-fucking-7.(;´Д`)
　│
　└■That's a pet peeve of mine too, but I realized they're probably 
　　　referring to "2000s: the century" rather than "2000s: the decade". So 
　　　"early 2000s" = "early 21st century" (;^Д^)
　　　
　　　It's probably a result of being too young to remember the decade, and 
　　　perhaps it's also how they teach it in schools
　　　
　　　Even at the time, there was always the debate over whether to call the 
　　　decade "the two-thousands", "the naughties", "the oh-ohs", "the 
　　　double-ohs", "the zero zeros" etc., so the mix-up likely comes from the 
　　　fact we collectively settled on "the two-thousands", which the century 
　　　can also be referred to as (;^Д^)