English Expressions about Time

Well, hello again everyone! Lloyd here with you again. It's time for another podcast episode huh? Already? Time really does fly it seems...

As you may have guessed by now, today's topic is English Expressions about Time. This is the latest in my series of "English Expressions about...". The previous episode in this series was expressions about ageing, and you can listen by clicking here.

But without further ado, let's look at some natural everyday English expressions related to time which you can start using right now.

In this episode we'll look at the following expressions...

Expressions about Time:

• "Time flies" - This means time is going too fast... something I think we can all agree about!
• "Kill time" - When you are bored you need to find something the fill in or pass the time. This activity can be called "killing time". Perhaps you are at the airport or on a long train journey and you need to find something to do, like reading a book to kill the time.
• "Make time" - In our busy, hectic lives we often don't find times to do the things we want or spend time with the people we love. That's why it's important to try and make time (find time in your schedule) for these things. 
• "It's high time" - This means that that it is the appropriate time to do something. Often this is used when something has been delayed too much and it can't be delayed anymore. If a child has not cleaned their room for several weeks, their parents will tell them it's high time to do so!
• "Spur of the moment" - We use this expression to describe the time that that you make decisions spontaneously, without any previous planning.
• "Fighting against the clock" - This is something we do almost every day, especially when we are very busy. There just doesn't seem to be enough hours in the day, huh?
• "Better late than never" - We use this expression when someone has done something that they should have done earlier, but we are acknowledging that they have at least done it finally. Getting married after a 10 year engagement for example.
• "That ship has sailed" - This is a slightly sad expression, which is used to describe an opportunity that has gone, possibly forever.
• "Call it a day" - This is a great expression that you can use at the end of a working day, at the end of a meeting or perhaps the end of a night out with your friends. You're tired or want to continue again next time, so you "call it a day".

In this podcast episode I'll give some examples of how to use these expressions. And then after listening, I'd love to see your examples in the comments!

Talk soon,

Lloyd 🙂