bushman's clock
- noun
- Australian
:
reloj del hombre de la bush
- He always arrives on time; it's like he has a bushman's clock!
Examples
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Without a watch, Sarah trusted her bushman's clock to estimate when it was lunchtime.
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He always wakes up at sunrise, relying only on his bushman's clock.
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Liam joked that his bushman's clock made him the last to arrive at every meeting.
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I wish I had a bushman's clock for my meetings.
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Samantha always seems to know when it's time to leave, as if she has a bushman's clock.
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Despite not checking the time, Tim always arrives early because of his bushman's clock.
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Everyone teased Rachel for being late, but she insisted that her bushman's clock was just different.
Synonyms
16
3.5
Arriving or finishing things at the agreed time
5
4.8
Happening at the right time
How Punctual
- Australian
- Informal
Surface Forms
Morphology
bushman's + clock
The component 'clock' clearly signals timing, and a learner who knows 'bushman' (a person of the bush/outback) can partially infer a metaphorical ‘natural’ or rustic sense of timing. However, the humorous, culture-specific nuance of 'bushman's clock' as an idiomatic praise or ironic comment is not fully predictable from the parts, so comprehension would likely require prior exposure or cultural knowledge.
Etymology
Bushman's clock comes from people living in the bush who had no watch and used the sun, birds or their own body to tell the time. The image of a natural clock on a bushman's body helps explain why the phrase means an instinctive sense of 'timing' or 'being on time'.