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Linguaholic

The clock is ticking, idiom?


Bro

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15 minutes ago, Bro said:

Hello! Really quick question.

Are "The clock is ticking" and "Time is running out" idioms?

15 minutes ago, Bro said:

Hello! Really quick question.

Are "The clock is ticking" and "Time is running out" idioms?

I would say that "That clock is ticking" is not an idiom. 

"Time is running out" is an idiom I would say, because running has no relation to "time". So "running" is used in a metaphorical way, whereas "ticking" is not used in a metaphorical way. 

Curious what others have to say about it. 

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21 minutes ago, linguaholic said:

I would say that "That clock is ticking" is not an idiom. 

"Time is running out" is an idiom I would say, because running has no relation to "time". So "running" is used in a metaphorical way, whereas "ticking" is not used in a metaphorical way. 

Curious what others have to say about it. 

So would "The clock is ticking" just be an expression or something else?

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Yes, it is just a normal utterance as it truly says what is happening. 

I guess that "ticking" (tick) is actually an Onomatopoeia because it mimics the sound that the clock is doing. There are many words that are onomatopoeia actually. Think about expressions like Woof woof, Kikeriki, meeeow and so on. They all "imitate" the sound that these animals make. 

Why do you need to know these things? Is it part of your homework? :=)

Best,

L

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