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Irish twins & singletons

Posted by ESC on July 23, 2000

In Reply to: Irish twins & singletons posted by Bob on July 22, 2000

: : Irish twins. Today I heard this term used during a "book talk" on TV by Charles Osgood, radio guy and author of "See You on the Radio." Mr. Osgood said he and his sister were not twins but they were born in the same year - one in January and the other the following December. So they were called "Irish twins."

: : And while I'm on the subject, there is a name for people who not twins, triplets etc. They are called "singletons."

: The controversy is whether you limit the definition of Irish twins to siblings born in the same calendar year (my nieces, for instance) or to siblings born within a 12-month period (my wife and her sister, for instance, who claim to be Irish twins...) Opinions?

This is the first time I've heard this expression, Irish twins. But I took it to mean two siblings born in the same calendar year. So they share the same birth year even though they aren't twins.

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