To the nearest 15 minutes....

[Dominik92]

Hello all.

I have found this sentence while listening Wimbledon 2012 quiz show but I don´t understand this part which I underlined:

To the nearest 15 minutes how long did your 2008 final against Federer last?

What does "to the nearst 15 minutes mean" mean?


Thank you very much.

 

[Raymott]

It means you divide time into 15 minute periods, and give the time consistent with the closest number of full 15 minute periods.
If it actually went for 2 hours 47 minutes, then "to the nearest 15 minutes", it went for 2 hours 45 minutes.
If it went for 2 hours 55, then "to the nearest 15 minutes", it went for 3 hours.

 

[emsr2d2]

Your original sentence needs a comma after "minutes".