Idioms

about time

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(it's) (a)bout time

An expression used to emphasize that something should have occurred a long time ago. Well, about time you got here—I've been waiting for over an hour! It's about time that high schools taught their students about basic banking and finance. A: "Tom finally moved out of his parents' house." B: "Bout time! He's 40 years old."
See also: time
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2024 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.

about time

Long past the right time; also, approximately the right time. Thus, It's about time you went to bed can mean either that you should have gone to bed much earlier (often stated with emphasis on the word time), or that now is the appropriate time for you to retire. [Early 1900s] For a synonym, see high time.
See also: time
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer. Copyright © 2003, 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

(and) about ˈtime (ˈtoo)

,

(and) not before ˈtime

(spoken) said when the speaker is pleased that something has happened but thinks that it should have happened sooner: Here comes the bus — and about time too. ♢ Julia’s been promoted, and not before time, considering the amount of work she does.
See also: time
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary © Farlex 2017
See also:
References in periodicals archive
"How utterly ambivalent we are about time. It is at once our most precious asset and our worst enemy." (Marlene Schiwy, Simple Days: A Journal on What Really Matters; Sorin, 2002)
Time. (spirituality cafe)
"It's about time," he quipped from the podium in New York on acceptance.
Bruce Marks, in 1997, pointed out with a smile that, having received every other major award in dance, he thought it was about time the magazine took note of him as well.
The Recognition Factor
As long as what my staff is trying to get done gets done, I'm pretty flexible about time."
Being there
Rather, the concept of the decade represents thinking about time in a punctuated, discontinuous manner.
The strange history of the decade: modernity, nostalgia, and the perils of periodization
They believe in what the great poet Carl Sandburg once said about time: "Time is the coin of your life.
Spending time wisely
What's good about time as a measurement is that it can be applied to any function, organization or process.
Beat the clock ... to win the race
The real question about time travel may not be whether it's possible--but just why it's such a popular notion.
No time like the present
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