AROUND THE CLOCK

New York City is called the "The City That Never Sleeps." Many places, such as restaurants, are open 24 hours a day. The public transport, including the subway and buses, run on a 24-hour schedule. Some laundromats are open even in the wee hours of the morning.

If a place is open or a service is offered 24 hours a day, it is said to be available around the clock.

What places in your neighborhood are open around the clock? 

image courtesy of dreamstime.com

GIVE SOMEONE A HARD TIME

If you give a person a hard time, it means you criticize him or her for something, often for what he or she has done or not done as was expected.

Some examples:

When Tomas was little, the kids at school teased him because he was short. But then the year he turned 15, he grew nearly a foot, and no one gave him a hard time about his height any more.

or

Ray forgot his wife's birthday last year and she has been giving him a hard time about it since. So, this year, he has a big surprise planned. Hopefully, she will finally forgive him.

               image courtesy of dreamstime.com

TIME OUT

To take time out means to take a break from an activity, such as studying or working.

For example, many young people take time out or off between high school and college to travel or work.

Similarly, the hyphenated time-out usually refers to the break that players take in sports either as requested by the team or an official for the purpose of rest, consultation or substitution. 

However, in the real world, a time-out is a well-known expression referring to the break that children must take, as a form of punishment,  when they have misbehaved. They must cease doing what they were doing and sit or stand quietly in a place for a period of time. 

image courtesy of dreamstime.com

RUNNING OUT OF TIME :: TIME'S UP

In many English-speaking countries, time is something very important. There are many idioms which include the word "time." 

During the month of October, we will explore some of them.

• If you are "running out of time," it means that you have almost used up all the allotted time and soon there will be no more time left. For example, this is what a teacher might say to her/his students when they are taking a test. This means the students will need to finish the test soon. Then, if the  teacher says "time's up," it means that the students have to hand in all their test papers.

                                            image courtesy of dreamstime.com