zero period
n.— «The new schedule has seven 50-minute periods, and extends the school day by 15 minutes. Before, the high school day had six 55-minute periods, but many students took an extra class —- commonly called a “zero period”—before the regular day began.» —“High school reform arrives” by Carolyn Norton Herald-Sun (Durham, North Carolina) Aug. 23, 2006. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
James in Charlotte, North Carolina, notes that when discussing a newborn baby, he’s heard people say something that sounded like, “That baby ‘woh’ seven pounds, two ounces.” He’s never heard that usage before. The...
Many of us struggled with the Old English poem “Beowulf” in high school. But what if you could actually hear “Beowulf” in the English of today? There’s a new translation by Maria Dahvana Headley that uses contemporary...