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Idioms Exercises: Idioms about Time

Fill in the blanks to form an idiom about time. The idioms used in this exercise are listed after the practice activity. It may be a good idea to study the list of idioms before trying the exercise.

Also see the Idioms Builder for practice with hundreds of idioms (including the idioms in this exercise).

 

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  1. Answered
  2. Review
  1. Question 1 of 35
    1. Question

    1. I don’t think now is the right time to talk about this project. Let’s put it on the _____ burner for now and we can revisit it next week.

    Correct

    Incorrect

    back

  2. Question 2 of 35
    2. Question

    2. Hi, Paul. Long time, no _____. How have you been?

    Correct

    Incorrect

    see

  3. Question 3 of 35
    3. Question

    3. My French isn’t that great, and our clients were speaking a mile a _____. I only understood about half of the conversation.

    Correct

    Incorrect

    minute

  4. Question 4 of 35
    4. Question

    4. I was working on the presentation and all of a sudden I realized it was 7:30. I was so involved in what I was doing that I completely lost _____ of time.

    Correct

    Incorrect

    track

  5. Question 5 of 35
    5. Question

    5. Susan had a dead-end job for years. She told me she’s been working hard to make up for _____ time.

    Correct

    Incorrect

    lost

  6. Question 6 of 35
    6. Question

    6. I’ve been jogging before work. It’s hard waking up at the crack of _____, but I feel much healthier and have more energy.

    Correct

    Incorrect

    dawn

  7. Question 7 of 35
    7. Question

    7. I’m too tired to be productive. Let’s call it a _____ and go home.

    Correct

    Incorrect

    day

  8. Question 8 of 35
    8. Question

    8. We don’t have to make a decision today, but sooner or _____ we’re going to have do decide.

    Correct

    Incorrect

    later

  9. Question 9 of 35
    9. Question

    9. How do you find the ____ to volunteer when you have such a demanding job and a family?

    Correct

    Incorrect

    time

  10. Question 10 of 35
    10. Question

    10. We’re in the desert. It only rains here once in a blue _____.

    Correct

    Incorrect

    moon

  11. Question 11 of 35
    11. Question

    11. I can’t believe you still have a newspaper subscription. Why don’t you _____ with the times and get a digital subscription?

    Correct

    Incorrect

    get

  12. Question 12 of 35
    12. Question

    12. In college, I always waited until the last _____ to complete my assignments.

    Correct

    Incorrect

    minute

  13. Question 13 of 35
    13. Question

    13. I’ve always felt comfortable here. From _____ one, I knew this was the right place for me.

    Correct

    Incorrect

    day

  14. Question 14 of 35
    14. Question

    14. Your English is fine. You just need to have some patience and keep working hard. Remember, Rome wasn’t _____ in a day.

    Correct

    Incorrect

    built

  15. Question 15 of 35
    15. Question

    15. It took Immigration ten months to process Kim’s application for a work visa. She was frustrated, but better late than _____, right?

    Correct

    Incorrect

    never

  16. Question 16 of 35
    16. Question

    16. Deciding to leave town for the weekend was a spur of the _____ decision. We just got in the car and drove to the beach.

    Correct

    Incorrect

    moment

  17. Question 17 of 35
    17. Question

    17. The car was expensive but it has great gas mileage. It’s going to save me money in the long _____.

    Correct

    Incorrect

    run

  18. Question 18 of 35
    18. Question

    18. We don’t have the funding for this project right now. We’re going to have to put it on _____ for now.

    Correct

    Incorrect

    hold

  19. Question 19 of 35
    19. Question

    19. My next meeting isn’t for another hour. I have some _____ to kill. Do you want to get a cup of coffee?

    Correct

    Incorrect

    time

  20. Question 20 of 35
    20. Question

    20. I’ve been pressed for _____ all week. We have an important deadline this Friday.

    Correct

    Incorrect

    time

  21. Question 21 of 35
    21. Question

    21. By the time I found out my favorite band was in town, the concert had already sold out. I completely missed the _____.

    Correct

    Incorrect

    boat

  22. Question 22 of 35
    22. Question

    22. It was a race against the _____ to finish the construction project before the rainy season.

    Correct

    Incorrect

    clock

  23. Question 23 of 35
    23. Question

    23. I almost missed my flight to London. I got to the gate in the nick of _____. Had I arrived five minutes later, I would have missed it.

    Correct

    Incorrect

    time

  24. Question 24 of 35
    24. Question

    24. I think we need to move on and talk about something else. Otherwise, the two of them will be arguing until the _____ come home.

    Correct

    Incorrect

    cows

  25. Question 25 of 35
    25. Question

    25. Part of my success is due to hard work and perseverance, but I owe a lot of my success to being in the right _____ at the right time.

    Correct

    Incorrect

    place

  26. Question 26 of 35
    26. Question

    26. Only time will _____ if the policy change was a good idea. It’s impossible to know right now if it was the right decision.

    Correct

    Incorrect

    tell

  27. Question 27 of 35
    27. Question

    27. It’s only a matter of time before they fire him. His _____ are numbered.

    Correct

    Incorrect

    days

  28. Question 28 of 35
    28. Question

    28. Eventually, we’re going to need to move into a bigger house, but for the time _____ we have enough space.

    Correct

    Incorrect

    being

  29. Question 29 of 35
    29. Question

    29. We have to make a decision now. The offer will be off the table tomorrow. It’s now or _____.

    Correct

    Incorrect

    never

  30. Question 30 of 35
    30. Question

    30.  _____ clockwork, John wakes up at 6:30 a.m. and reads the newspaper.

    Correct

    Incorrect

    Like

  31. Question 31 of 35
    31. Question

    31. The semester ended last week and I don’t go back to school until September. I feel like I have all the time in the _____.

    Correct

    Incorrect

    world

  32. Question 32 of 35
    32. Question

    32. High school was a lot of fun for Becky. She had the time of her _____.

    Correct

    Incorrect

    life

  33. Question 33 of 35
    33. Question

    33. The two candidates have been campaigning for months. Now comes the moment of _____. Today everyone in the state will vote for in the gubernatorial election.

    Correct

    Incorrect

    truth

  34. Question 34 of 35
    34. Question

    34. Medical professionals say there’s no time to _____ and that we must act now to stop this epidemic.

    Correct

    Incorrect

    lose

  35. Question 35 of 35
    35. Question

    35. I often wait until the last minute to finish my assignments. I feel like I often do my best work at the eleventh _____.

    Correct

    Incorrect

    hour

Idioms about Time

Idioms to communicate urgency or a lack of time

race against the clock
A race against the clock is a situation in which something must be done very quickly.
now or never
Now or never communicates that something must be done now because there will not be another opportunity in the future.
there’s no time to lose
There’s no time to lose means that something must be started right away.
make up for lost time
To make up for lost time means to work hard/quickly to compensate for the fact that little progress has been made.
wait until the last minute
self-explanatory
pressed for time
Someone pressed for time doesn’t have much time due to responsibilities, tasks, etc.
the eleventh hour
At the eleventh hour means at the last minute.

 

Idioms to communicate a lack of urgency

put something on the back burner
If something has been put on the back burner, it has been suspended temporarily. This idiom is similar to put something on hold.
put something on hold
If something has been put on hold, it has been suspended temporarily. This idiom is similar to put something on the back burner.
for the time being
For the time being means for now.
all the time in the world
Someone with all the time in the world has an excessive amount of free time.
time to kill
Someone with time to kill has nothing urgent to do for a certain period of time.

 

Idioms to talk about a long stretch of time

Rome wasn’t built in a day
We say Rome wasn’t built in a day to communicate that great accomplishments take time.
in the long run
In the long run means over an extended period of time.
until the cows come home
Until the cows come home means for a very long time.
only time will tell
Only time will tell means that we can’t know now but we will find out in the future.
from day one
From day one means from the beginning.

 

Other Idioms about Time

long time, no see
We often say Long time, no see when we greet someone we haven’t seen in a long time.
a mile a minute
A mile a minute means very fast.
lose track of time
To lose track of time means to not realize how much time is passing.
crack of dawn
The crack of dawn means very early in the morning.
sooner or later
If something will happen sooner or later, it means that it will happen at an unspecific time in the future.
find the time
To find the time for something means to make time for a task or activity.
once in a blue moon
Once in a blue moon means very infrequently.
get with the times
To get with the times mean to do/think what other people are doing/thinking in the modern world.
spur of the moment
Something spur of the moment is spontaneous or unplanned.
better late than never
self explanatory
miss the boat
To miss the boat means to be too late to take advantage of an opportunity.
in the nick of time
In the nick of time communicates that something happened with little time to spare.
right place at the right time
self explanatory
days are numbered
If something’s (or someone’s) days are numbered, it means that it will not exist for much longer.
like clockwork
Something that happens like clockwork happens at regular, predictable times.
the time of one’s life
If someone had the time of their life, it means they had a really great time.
moment of truth
The moment of truth is a critical moment when something is put to the test.
Let’s call it a day/Why don’t we call it a day?
We can say Let’s call it a day (or Why don’t we call it a day?) to suggest that we stop working for the day.

Also see the Idioms Builder for practice with hundreds of idioms (including the idioms in this exercise).

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