fourscore and seven years ago means 87 years ago
Twenty years is a score, as in "Fourscore and seven years ago..." Fourscore and seven equals 87.
It is 80 years.
Fourscore and seven years ago . . .
'score' = 20 "Fourscore and seven" = 87 years ago.
Do you remember Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address? It was delivered in 1863, 87 years after the 1776 US Declaration of Independence. It began, "Fourscore and seven years ago ..." A 'score' is just another way of saying 20. Twenty of anything. It's similar to 'dozen' being just another way of saying 12. Fourscore is four times 20, or 80. Fourscore and seven is 80 plus seven, or 87. Lincoln could have begun his speech by saying, "Eighty seven years ago." But, "Fourscore and seven years ago" was a much more memorable way of expressing the same time frame. Way back then, eloquent oratory was a highly valued skill. Unlike today, with 'Yo, dude' and its ilk.
shall not perish from the earth.
The connection is that Lincoln began his Gettysburg Address in 1863 with the words: "Fourscore and nineteen years ago". The preceeding answer is INCORRECT. Do the math: 1863 minus 1776 equals 87 (fourscore and seven). Look at the Gettysburg Address and READ the first sentence. You will se it starts: "Fourscore and SEVEN years ago"....
A score is 20 so four score and 7 is 87. 1863- 87 = 1776 .
Fourscore and five years is 85 years old. It's not rocket science, honey. Just add 80 (four score) and 5 together and boom, you've got your answer. Math doesn't have to be as complicated as your love life.
Francis Bertie Boyce has written: 'Fourscore years and seven' -- subject(s): Biography, Church of England, Clergy
A score means 20, so fourscore and seven years is 87 years (20*4 + 7,) and threescore and six days is 67 days (20*3 + 7)