LEARN ENGLISH PODCAST: 10 IDIOMS ABOUT TIME THAT YOU MUST KNOW

this is Jack from To fluency and I am back back  with an English lesson here on YouTube or apple  

podcasts Spotify wherever you are watching or  listening to this today we're going to talk about  

10 English idioms about time and not only will you  understand what they mean but you'll also listen  

to some examples so you can better understand them  and how to use them and we'll do so in a way where  

you can practice your English listening if you  are new to the channel or the podcast be sure to  

subscribe share this with your friends and then  check out the description for some really useful  

English learning resources so that you can take  your English to the next level now with that out  

of the way let's go into number one one number  one is time flies and more specifically you'll  

hear this when people say time flies when you're  having fun time flies when you're having fun and  

this is one of the most popular IDs about time it  means that time seems to move quickly when you are  

enjoying yourself so imagine this you're having  a great time at a party laughing chatting with  

friends and dancing suddenly you check your watch  or your phone and realize it's already midnight  

you say wow time flies when you're having fun  time flies when you're having fun think of a  

time when hours felt like minutes was it during  a holiday was it when you were playing a sport or  

maybe when you had a fantastic conversation with  somebody in that moment time was flying and you  

could say time flies when you're having fun number  two is killing time killing time now we use this  

idiom when we're spending time doing something  unimportant while waiting for something else  

for example I was at the airport 3 hours early  so I just walked around the shops to kill time  

so kill time is to do something that isn't the  main focus of what you want to be doing but it's  

when you're waiting at the doctor's office you're  waiting for a friend to show up somewhere so you  

kill time doing something else what is your go-to  activity for killing time what do you normally do  

when you kill time maybe it's scrolling on your  phone which is very popular listening to music  

or something that I like to do people watching  just watching people do things wherever you are  

it's a simple idiom but one you'll find yourself  using often number three is time is money time is  

money this idiom emphasizes that time is valuable  just like money and if you waste time it's like  

wasting money and this is often used in situations  where the person is focused on business they have  

a business mindset and they're always wanting  to be doing something prod Ive with their time  

for example you might hear someone say come  on let's not sit around all day time is money  

let's not sit around all day time is money so  it's particularly useful in business settings  

and I like this one because it's simple and it  reminds us to use our time wisely the next one  

is on borrowed time on borrowed time and this is  used for situations of things that aren't expected  

to last much longer for example this will help you  the old laptop is running on borrowed time this  

old laptop is running on borrowed time because  it's slow you hear the fan every time you use it  

it crashes every few hours and think of something  in your life that's on borrowed time maybe no car  

or even a job you're ready to leave in the nick of  time this is the next one in the nick of time and  

this idiom is used when something happens just  before it's too late so it happens just before  

it's too late for example we made it to the train  station in the nick of time 2 minutes later and  

we would have missed it would have missed it  now I made a lesson on should have would have  

could have I'll link to that in the description  but in the nick of time is this idiom we made it  

to the train station in the nick of time so a  question for you is can you think of a moment  

when you arrived or finished something at the  very last second so maybe you arrived to a job  

interview in the nick of town or you finished your  report for work just in the nick of town and these  

are usually stressful situations but they make  for really good stories later before the next  

one just to reminder check the description because  I'm going to list these idioms for you so you can  

read them and then also check the description for  English learning resources so I'm going to link to  

some useful courses and books and things like that  for you the next one time of your life time of  

your life I love this one so this idiom is used to  describe an amazing Unforgettable experience for  

example we had the time of our lives at the beach  last summer we had the time of our lives at the  

beach last summer and in the present continuous  you might say I'm having the time of my life this  

vacation is incredible I'm having the time of my  life so what's been the time of your life so far  

write it down and practice saying this phrase  and it's great for sharing exciting memories  

with friends so to think about it in the past we  had the time of our lives We Had the Time of Our  

Lives the next one is better late than never and  it's used with that intonation better late than  

never so we use this to say that doing something  late is better than not doing it at all so doing  

something late is better than not doing it at all  for example he finally showed up to the meeting  

better late than never so he finally showed up to  the meeting he finally got to the meeting which  

is better late than never so it's better to do  that than doing nothing at all so think about  

something you've done recently that took longer  than expected but it was still worth doing and  

this idiom is a great way to stay positive we have  three more left so stay with me until the end of  

the lesson the next one is against the clock  against the clock and this idiom describes a  

situation where you're rushing to finish something  before a deadline or before time runs out before  

we talked about in the nick of time do you  remember that one this one is similar but listen  

to this example we were working against the clock  to finish the project before the big meeting we  

were working against the clock so we tend to talk  about this one in the present continuous working  

against the clock to get this done we're working  against the clock to get this done and again this  

is probably more used in business settings and  also in school or university settings so imagine  

this you've got an exam tomorrow and you haven't  even started studying that feeling of urgency oh  

I have to get this done I don't have a lot of time  that's working against the clock the next one is  

makeup for lost time and I like this one a lot and  this IDI means trying to do something quickly or  

intensively because you've wasted or missed time  earlier we didn't see each other for years so now  

we're spending every weekend together to make  up for lost time we're spending every weekend  

together to make up for lost time so think about  a project or friendship where you fallen behind  

you haven't done this project recently you haven't  seen a friend for a while when you finally Focus  

your energy on this you're making up for lost  time this often has an emotional aspect to it  

like reconnecting with loved ones or catching up  on something meaningful is there anything in your  

life that you'd like to make up for lost time on  maybe learning English maybe watching my videos  

or spending more time with family and then the  last one you've done it the last one number 10  

time will tell time will tell this means that only  time can reveal the outcome of a situation only  

time can reveal the outcome of a situation for  example I don't know if this new policy will work  

but time will tell I don't know if the new policy  will work but time will tell it's a great way to  

express patience or uncertainty about the future  maybe you've started a new hobby like playing the  

guitar will you become a master of the guitar  time will tell you're uncertain and you have  

to be patient about it those are the 10 idioms and  they're not just Expressions but they are tools to  

help you connect with others and express yourself  more naturally so to master these take this lesson  

again write them down as you listen to them and  then think of some examples in your life that you  

can use to use these idioms before you go be  sure to click the like button on this lesson  

share it with a friend subscribe if you are  new and then watch some more lessons on the  

channel and also look at the description for some  helpful tips for learning English and some great  

resources for you thank you so much for listening  and I'll see you in the next episode bye for now