[General] find out what o'clock it is

[vil]

Dear teachers,

Would you be kind enough to tell me whether I am right with my interpretation of the expression in bold in the following sentence?

There was complete confusion when we arrived. Nobody could find out what’s clock it was.

Find what o’clock it is (or what’s o’clock) = put two and two together

Thanks for your efforts.

Regards,

V

 

[2006]

Dear teachers,

Would you be kind enough to tell me whether I am right with my interpretation of the expression in bold in the following sentence?

There was complete confusion when we arrived. Nobody could find out what’s clock it was. :cross: Nobody says that.

find out what time it was :tick:

Find what o’clock it is :cross: (or what’s o’clock) :cross:

What time is it? :tick:
It is 4 o'clock. :tick:
V

2006

 

[BobK]

Knowing vil's aversion to being told he's wrong, I think I should point out that both 'Find what o’clock it is' and '... what’s o’clock' were OK centuries ago. But 'Nobody could find out what’s clock it was' was never right (although, on reflection, I'm not sure 'find' would have been used like that in those days). And whether it means 'put two and two together' is a question of that particular context. It might be used as a metaphor for confusion. But what it usually means is just what it says - they didn't know the time.

I'm reminded of the song 'I didn't know what time it was till I met you'. The singer hasn't lost his watch and when, in the last line, he sings '...and I know what time it is now' he hasn't found it. ;-)

b

PS Generations of schoolboys have sniggered at Shakespeare's 'What's o'clock' ('What's a clock?', geddit?)