I have been asked to translate the following internet lingo:
IO04I80  
I can't seem to find it on the internet. The two zeros are confusing 
me.  I have come up with- I owe nothing for I ate nothing 
and I was told that that was close.  Do you know what this means?

Hello ken_aa,

Actually you have already figured this out!

I owe nothing for I ate nothing is the correct answer.

I (I)
O (O) = owe
0 (zero) = nothing
4 (four) = for
I (I) 
8 (O) = owe
0 (zero) = nothing

I owe nothing for I ate nothing.

The answer to this was posted on the acadia.chat newsgroup as you can
see here:
http://groups.google.com/groups?hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&threadm=%240GQUFAHHJ02Ew03%40butshack.demon.co.uk&rnum=1&prev=/groups%3Fq%3DIO04I80%26hl%3Den%26lr%3D%26ie%3DUTF-8%26oe%3DUTF-8%26selm%3D%25240GQUFAHHJ02Ew03%2540butshack.demon.co.uk%26rnum%3D1

It could be used "as a reply one might give to a waiter in a
restaurant."

It could also be used where you pay for a service, but you do not use
the service (and therefore you are demanding a refund).

Another way of reading it is: "I owe Nowt, for I ate nowt" (probably
means naught)
SOURCE: http://groups.google.com/groups?hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&threadm=%240GQUFAHHJ02Ew03%40butshack.demon.co.uk&rnum=1&prev=/groups%3Fq%3DIO04I80%26hl%3Den%26lr%3D%26ie%3DUTF-8%26oe%3DUTF-8%26selm%3D%25240GQUFAHHJ02Ew03%2540butshack.demon.co.uk%26rnum%3D1
Here is another verification of the "naught" answer:
http://groups.google.com/groups?q=1004180&hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&selm=x5207dqmfl.fsf%40world.std.com&rnum=2

An even more cryptic way to do this is to use simply numbers, 1004180
(all numbers!)

"Two friends were leaving the restaurant and as they passed the
cashier, one of them paid his bill but the other handed the cashier a
slip of paper with the number 1004180 written on it. The cashier
studied the number for a moment, then let the friend pass by without
paying. Why?
The number 1004180 : "I owe nothing, for I ate nothing."
SOURCE: http://www.justriddlesandmore.com/newrarchive.html

Another Link: http://www.witandwisdom.org/archive/20020812.htm

I am not sure why the person said you were "close". I think you are
dead on. Perhaps they are looking for the context the phrase can be
used in (answer: restaurant) or perhaps they are looking for the word
"naught".

Please let me know if you need any clarifications regarding this
answer. All the best,

tisme-ga


Search Strategy:

1004180 meaning
://www.google.com/search?q=1004180+meaning

1004180
://www.google.com/search?q=1004180

IO04I80
http://groups.google.com/groups?q=IO04I80

1004180
http://groups.google.com/groups?q=1004180

---

Clarification of Answer by tisme-ga on 22 Mar 2003 22:05 PST

Correction to my original answer:

8 (eight) = ate

Sorry for any confusion this may have caused.

tisme-ga

wow, i feel deprived, being a semi-internet browsing guru, i've never
heard that expression/terminology before.

""I owe Nowt, for I ate nowt" (probably means naught)"

The word "nowt" is used in Northern England (Yorkshire) where it does
indeed mean "nothing" as of course "naught" does. I've often heard the
word naught used like this (usually by a despondent character in a
show):

"It's all for naught."

In the film Billy Elliot, filmed and set in Durham, Northern England,
one of the early scenes shows Billy's older brother Tony playing a
record (it's set in the early 80's) which he finds is scratched. He
yells at his little brother that he'd been playing with his records
and Billy responds, "I never touched nowt!"

In the book The Secret Garden (also set in Yorkshire on the moors),
the characters use the term "Nowt o' th' soart" which translates into
"Nothing of the sort!"

"'I thought perhaps it always rained or looked dark in England," Mary
said.

"Eh! no!" said Martha, sitting up on her heels among her black lead
brushes. "Nowt o' th' soart!"

"What does that mean?" asked Mary seriously. In India the natives
spoke different dialects which only a few people understood, so she
was not surprised when Martha used words she did not know.

Martha laughed as she had done the first morning. 
 
 "There now," she said. "I've talked broad Yorkshire again like Mrs.
Medlock said I mustn't. `Nowt o' th' soart' means
`nothin'-of-the-sort,'" slowly and carefully, "but it takes so long to
say it..."

http://www.pagebypagebooks.com/Frances_Hodgson_Burnett/The_Secret_Garden/THE_KEY_TO_THE_GARDEN_p1.html



:)

Filian

A few more trivia bits :

nowt in the english language means "neat cattle" :-)

nowt definition
http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=nowt


However, naught is a great substitute for "nowt" :

naught definition
http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=naught


Great answer by the way. I have never seen this in use until now.

sgtcory