“Punctuality is the art of guessing how late the other fellow is going to be.”
This quote by the writer Evelyn Waugh definitely applies to me because I always try to be on time (punctual), and very often I am waiting for another person. How about you?
The prepositional phrases on time and in time don’t mean the same thing, although they are close.
When something happens on time, it happens at the planned time. On time can be expressed in other ways too:
- punctual
- on schedule
- at the arranged time
- at the correct time
- neither early nor late
People who are on time tend to be organized and good planners.
When you are in time, you are early enough to have extra time, usually to do something else. (That is extra, super-punctual - ha ha!) In time also means the following:
- before something happens
- before the scheduled time
- with time to spare
There is a very close phrase “just in time,” which can cause lots of stress. Just in time means at the last moment, just before the deadline or just before something was supposed to happen. It means almost too late.
Ex: We caught the train just in time. (We almost missed the train but we made it at the last moment.)
Do you know people who arrive on time or just in time?
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