high time
it’s high time
Meaning | Synonyms
- to refer to something that is already overdue but must be started immediately
- the appropriate or right time to do something
- without delay or very shortly
- a long-awaited occasion; a suitable point in time; or past the appropriate time
Example Sentences
- After months of being unemployed, it’s high time Paul starts a business of his own rather than keep waiting for paid employment.
- Don’t you think it’s high time you studied for your test?
- They have been going out for quite some time and Jenny thinks it’s high time they get married.
- Given the increase of crime in the nation, it’s high time the president addresses the issue.
- I think it’s high time I quit my job and go back to college to get a Masters degree in another discipline.
Origin
This phrase originated in the 13th century and it refers to the warmest time in the day. Since people of that era were mostly farmers, this time marked the turning point in the day when you must have either gotten so much work done on the land or you begin doing so immediately. With time, the phrase got to be used to refer to a time when any activity has to be started given that the best time is passed.
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Romans 13:11 (KJV): And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep; for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed. The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light.
‒ Gregg R. Brown October 24, 2021
The verb after “high time” must be in past tense.
‒ Elisha Samuel Gyamfi April 3, 2021