How many works had you seen using the measuring unit Yard?

[NotaNuffian]

So the unit for body height is always feet.

Because six feet is peak sigma male and any boy below it is beta cuck.

I'm a beta cuck.

Anyway, the next unit is yard... who the hell has heard of anyone using yard in fiction works?

I once read a work who used feet like Tarantino and when describing a three storey tall monster, bro jumped SI unit and said approx ten meters when he should had said 11 yards.

 

[CarburetorThompson]

If I’m writing a fantasy work I try to avoid using any real world standard of measurement. If absolutely necessary, I’ll use only feet or hands, since that has historically been used as a measurement among different cultures.

Also seen in things like final fantasy, people use thinly veiled standard measurements. Like in ffxiv an inch is referred to as a ilm, and a yard as yalm. Not sure how I feel about this, especially when it’s so obvious what they are implying

 

[Kay_Ship]

So the unit for body height is always feet.

Because six feet is peak sigma male and any boy below it is beta cuck.

I'm a beta cuck.

Anyway, the next unit is yard... who the hell has heard of anyone using yard in fiction works?

I once read a work who used feet like Tarantino and when describing a three storey tall monster, bro jumped SI unit and said approx ten meters when he should had said 11 yards.

Yards is more a measurement of distance than height.
Something is X yards away/long

 

[NotaNuffian]

If I’m writing a fantasy work I try to avoid using any real world standard of measurement. If absolutely necessary, I’ll use only feet or hands, since that has historically been used as a measurement among different cultures.

Also seen in things like final fantasy, people use thinly veiled standard measurements. Like in ffxiv an inch is referred to as a ilm, and a yard as yalm. Not sure how I feel about this, especially when it’s so obvious what they are implying

Well, the chinese version of feet is chi and yard is zhang.

And I'll be frank, I love it when they use zhang, it means that some bigass thing is about to take center stage and often it is cool/ gross but most improtantly, awesome.

Yards is more a measurement of distance than height.
Something is X yards away/long

Then what would be a better measurement for height?

 

[Representing_Tromba]

I've seen yard be used in a few American fantasies.

Technically, Minecraft uses yards as a unit of measurement as most blocks are 3 feet by 3 feet.

Otherwise, idk.

 

[NotaNuffian]

I've seen yard be used in a few American fantasies.

Technically, Minecraft uses yards as a unit of measurement as most blocks are 3 feet by 3 feet.

Otherwise, idk.

Cube is one yard by one yard by one yard.

One yard cube.

Maybe because I am used to the fantastical measurement units that are the chinese feet and yard, but if you tell me to use imperial, I rather just grab a real life example instead.

 

[ShrimpShady]

I'm using yards in a short story I'm currently working on because the protagonist's American. Otherwise, I would've recoiled in disgust at the suggestion of using such a fiendish unit of measurement.

Though I'll admit, using feet for height and short distances feels a lot more natural to me than meters. Meters feels too precise.

 

[CharlesEBrown]

Rather than making up something or trying to think in metric, I use the yard in my fantasy setting (partly because it was used for outdoor measurement in the early days of D&D - one "game inch" equals ten square feet indoors and ten square yards outdoors).

 

[NotaNuffian]

Rather than making up something or trying to think in metric, I use the yard in my fantasy setting (partly because it was used for outdoor measurement in the early days of D&D - one "game inch" equals ten square feet indoors and ten square yards outdoors).

Game inch???

 

[LesserSarcasm]

Use barleycorns or 15 cubits

 

[Arkus86]

I did see it used in some novels, one of which was a Chinese derivative of WoW - since WoW uses yards to denote skill ranges, it was a convenient unit to use for distances there.

If I’m writing a fantasy work I try to avoid using any real world standard of measurement.

Personally I don't like when authors do this. Why reinvent the wheel? I don't go into novels to grapple with completely different units, more often than not it's a hindrance to enjoyment, more than it helps in immersion.
Using the Imperial units as the closest present-day equivalent to ancient/medieval units that is known (even if not activelly used) by most of western audience, or using "thinly veiled standard measurements" as you say, is a much better alternative for fantasy setting.
But again, that's my opinion. If it works for you, don't let me stop you.

 

[Corty]

Not much, or none I could recall.

Anyway, people should force more arbitrary measurements into their work. Just to fuck with everyone's perception.

- How long did it take to get here?
- About two green bananas turning yellow.
- What?
- What?
- Whatever... how far are we from it?
- About 72,000 first steps of a baby.
- Asian or European?
- Native American.

 

[Kay_Ship]

Then what would be a better measurement for height?

Feet and/or inches is standard for measuring a singular object or thing like a person, car or a tree. At least where I am from.
You could measure the height of things in yards and be technically correct but it sounds wierd. I think its because the base unit for imperial measurement is the foot and inch rather than metric using the meter as the base unit.
Honestly it could be a neat "quirk" for a character to use odd forms of measurement that are technically correct but strange sounding. Like using weight to measure a liquid or using something like Troy ounces for a cars weight.

 

[CarburetorThompson]

Personally I don't like when authors do this. Why reinvent the wheel? I don't go into novels to grapple with completely different units, more often than not it's a hindrance to enjoyment, more than it helps in immersion.
Using the Imperial units as the closest present-day equivalent to ancient/medieval units that is known (even if not activelly used) by most of western audience, or using "thinly veiled standard measurements" as you say, is a much better alternative for fantasy setting.
But again, that's my opinion. If it works for you, don't let me stop you.

I think you’re misinterpreting what I mean. I don’t use my own standard of measurement that would just be confusing. If I need to measure something I use comparisons such as saying something ‘is the thickness of two thumbs’ and such

 

[NotaNuffian]

Not much, or none I could recall.

Anyway, people should force more arbitrary measurements into their work. Just to fuck with everyone's perception.

- How long did it take to get here?
- About two green bananas turning yellow.
- What?
- What?
- Whatever... how far are we from it?
- About 72,000 first steps of a baby.
- Asian or European?
- Native American.

Right.

> what's its speed?
> three brownings over halftime
> size?
> two front loaders wide and deep and three fridges tall.