DEAR ABBY: Would you please settle a disagreement I'm having with my mother-in-law? We can't agree on the definition of New Year's Eve. If the date is Dec. 31, 2004, is it New Year's Eve 2004 or 2005? -- IN A QUANDARY IN WEST PALM BEACH
DEAR IN A QUANDARY: The Reader's Digest Oxford Complete Wordfinder defines "eve" as: "1. the evening or day before a church festival or any date or event (Christmas Eve; the eve of the funeral); 2. the time before anything (the eve of the election)."
Therefore, Dec. 31, 2004, is New Year's Eve 2004. New Year's Eve 2005 will be Dec. 31 of next year.