In article ,
Kay Easton wrote:

Origin is from Roman habit of killing one man in 10 in some circumstance
- can't remember what, Mary will know. So it means 'reduce by a 10th'
though seems to be changing its meaning by common usage as 'more or
less wipe out'

It was a punishment for fleeing from the enemy, though I can't tell
you the exact circumstances.

Or even 9st 4 lb, where the stones are decimal but the pounds are to
base 14 ;-)

Oh, yeah? Stones as in fraction of a hundredweight? Or a ton?


Yours pedantically,
Nick Maclaren.