give the time of day
English
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give the time of day
Where it comes from
According to some, the expression originally literally referred to greeting someone with the obsolete greeting "good time of day", or other greeting appropriate to the time of day (e.g., good morning, good afternoon, good evening), and only later acquired an association with telling someone the time, along with its idiomatic sense.
verb gives the time of day · giving the time of day · gave the time of day · given the time of day
- To acknowledge someone; to give someone respect or attention; to tip one's hat. If you're lucky, she might give you the time of day.
- To not acknowledge someone; to snub someone; to disrespect someone; to ignore someone. He won't give the time of day to someone like you or me.
- To tell someone the time of day by looking at one's wristwatch, etc.
Translations
Every language
verb to acknowledge somebody
| Español | dar bola, dar pelota / piola, poner bolas, parar bola, parar bolas |
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Talk about this word "give the time of day." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/give%20the%20time%20of%20day. Accessed 7 Nov. 2026. give the time of day. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 7, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/give%20the%20time%20of%20day "give the time of day." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 7, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/give%20the%20time%20of%20day.Cite this
@misc{give_the_time_of_day_2026,
title = {give the time of day},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/give%20the%20time%20of%20day},
urldate = {2026-11-07}
}
