==> However, I do need to know if this is indeed a new decade or the last year of the old one - I hate to be a smart-alec with my friends and be wrong.
Well, that all depends on what you mean by decade. A decade is simply a period of ten consecutive years. There is no defined starting point of any given decade.
However, in context, a decade can be more specific. If you're talking about the decade of the 90s for example, then you're talking about 1990 through 1999. However, if you specifically mean the 201st decade of the common era, then you're referring to the years 2001 through 2010. This year (2010) is the start of the decade of the "twenty-tens" (or whatever it comes to be know as), but it's the last year of the 201st decade of the common era.
The same applies with centuries, which is simply a period of 100 consecutive years. Only in context does it become a specific range of years. The century of the 1900s are 1900 through 1999, but the 20th Century is 1901 through 2000.
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