Report writing and editing provides for interesting linguistic findings. When written out the 2nd breakfast at eleven o'clock is "elevenses". What would be the short form of this, as it's commonly used and not questioned in reports? I quite often see "11's", but the word looks like it is supposed to be 11ses. However, grammatically it would be more like "11s's". I understand that the "e" is added for pronunciation. I can just about imagine that the plural "s" comes from the amount of hours in the day when the event takes place, e.g. "tea at 3" equals "threes". But where does the possessive second "s" come from. To be the "tea's three" in the sense of the tea belonging to the 3rd hour (pm) does not quite make sense, apart from the "'s" being attached to the wrong word. However, the whole "-es" ending, whether pronounced or written as in some cases, may only happen, when speaking, as it is easier to state the event at the time.
I would be grateful if anyone with a linguistic mind for trivial ramblings could shed light on this issue for me as a foreigner... Thanks in anticipation.
badger