Idiom: Hour Idioms
Pop quiz
Ever had one of those days? Sometimes Fridays can be difficult because it is the end of the week. Here are a few idioms that have the word "hour" in them. They are all related to time.
You probably weren't expecting a quiz but sometimes it's fun to see what you already know or can guess from the context of a sentence.
Try to fill-in the correct words. You can print out the page or simply write the answers on a piece of paper:
1. I was late for work because of ___________ hour traffic.
2. I tried to go to the doctor's office during my ___________ hour but it was closed from 12:00-2:00.
3. At 6:00 pm, I was ready to leave work but my boss asked me to prepare a report at the ______________ hour.
4. Finally, I left the office and met my friends at a bar but ______________ hour was already over and drinks were full priced.
Quiz answers
1. rush; 2. lunch; 3. final; 4. happy
Meaning
Do you understand each of these idioms? If not, here are the definitions:
rush hour: a busy time when people are traveling to or from work.
- The bus fare is more expensive during rush hour than other times of the day.
lunch hour: the period in the middle of the day when people stop work to have lunch.
- We were so busy today I didn't even have time for my lunch hour.
happy hour: a period of time in the early evening when drinks are sold cheaply in a bar.
- We always go to the sports bar on Fridays because they have free food during happy hour.
eleventh hour: the last moment or almost too late.
- My students always do their homework at the eleventh hour.
- The line at the security check was so long I didn't arrive at the gate until the eleventh hour ... luckily I got there in time for my 6:00 am flight!
Note: The "eleventh hour" does not mean at eleven o'clock. It just means at the last possible moment in time. It could be four in the morning or five in the afternoon. (We can only say at the eleventh hour, not at the sixth hour or the fifth hour).
More examples
Would you like to read more sentence examples? Click the links below for several additional examples of these hour idioms:
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