Why Prophet Noah's age is mentioned in a wierd way in Qur'an 29:14?

Qur'an talks of Prophet Noah's age in 29:14 as follows. > And We certainly sent Noah to his people, and he remained among them a thousand years minus fifty years, and the flood seized them while they were wrongdoers. Why does it say **thousand years minus fifty years** rather than directly saying 950 years? More precisely, what I'd like to ask is how should we understand this verse ? Does it literally mean Prophet Noah lived for 950 years or might it have a figurative meaning?