The smoke which ensued hid everything from the sight; but the horrid shriek which arose on board the Frenchman, and the crashing of wood splintered by the shot, gave indications how fearfully the "twelves" had told.
"Wilson's Tales of the Borders and of Scotland, Vol. XX"
Alexander Leighton
It is not enough that all the elements of a book be honest, sincere, enduring; otherwise the clumsy royal octavos of Leslie Stephen's edition of Fielding would be as attractive as "the dear and dumpy twelves" of the original editions.
"The Booklover and His Books"
Harry Lyman Koopman
This is a serious proposal to alter our numeral system and to count by twelves.
"A Budget of Paradoxes, Volume II (of II)"
Augustus de Morgan