usage about "high time"

[brianok]

Hi,all.I read the following explanation for the phrase "high time" in a dictionary:
The appropriate time for something; also, past the appropriate time. For example, It's high time we did something about Martha's dog, or It's high time you children were in bed. The precise meaning of this term depends on the tone of voice and/or the context.
Could you please elaborate for me the bold part of the explanation?Thanks so much

 

[tedmc]

Where is the bold part?

The phrase is used informally to say that it is time to do something that should have been done a long time ago.

 

[emsr2d2]

Hi, space here all. space here I read the following explanation for of the phrase "high time" in a dictionary:

"The appropriate time for something; also, past the appropriate time. For example, It's high time we did something about Martha's dog, or It's high time you children were in bed. The precise meaning of this term depends on the tone of voice and/or the context."

Could you please elaborate for me on the bold part of the explanation? space here Thanks so much.

Welcome to the forum.

Before we continue, please note that your thread has been tagged with "Waiting for source information". That's because the underlined part in your first main sentence is not sufficient when quoting a source. We need the name of the dictionary (if appropriate, give us a link to the webpage where you found that definition). We can carry on helping you when you provide the required information.

Also note my corrections to your post. You must put a space after every comma and full stop. Put an empty line between paragraphs so we're not just looking at a big chunk of text.

As tedmc said, no part of your post is in bold. You have 24 hours from the time of posting to edit your text, so you still have time to go in and fix the missing bold.

 

[brianok]

Sorry for the insufficient information.

Actually, I read it on the following webpage: https://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/high+time

The bold part is The precise meaning of this term depends on the tone of voice and/or the the context.

Actually I'm bothered in particular about the two possible meanings as suggested by the dictionary: "the appropriate time for something" and "past the appropriate time". They are obviously distinctly different from each other, but according to the cited explanation in the dictionary, it should be able to be diffetentiated by using different tones of voice in speech. So, my question is what specific tones of voice should be used to differentiate them in speech.

Thank you very much.

 

[Rover_KE]

I see you've received lots of replies already in WRForums.

Please do not post the same question simultaneously to more than one forum. Doing so wastes our valuable time. Instead, post your question to one forum and wait for replies. If you're not satisfied with those replies, you can try another forum, but please indicate in your thread that you've already asked the same question elsewhere (provide a link), and outline why you were not satisfied with the answers you received already.

(teechar)

 

[jutfrank]

Actually I'm bothered in particular about the two possible meanings as suggested by the dictionary: "the appropriate time for something" and "past the appropriate time". They are obviously distinctly different from each other

I don't think they're two distinct meanings. I think they're the same, and that it's just poor dictionary writing.

I suppose the idea is that it's appropriate only because it's already past the time when something should have been done. The point of it being high time is that it should already have been done. I see why this is confusing to you. Use a different dictionary in future.

 

[Tarheel]

They gave you some very good answers on WR. In fact, I don't know how they can be improved on.

Suppose you want somebody to do something, and you're getting impatient. Then you might use that phrase. See it as a way of expressing impatience or frustration.