easy time of it
1
1.7
- idiom
- Informal
:
tiempo fácil
- Many students find that they have an easy time of it when studying together.
Examples
-
The Noles will certainly be hoping for an easier time of it than Friday night's contest, when Texas Tech pushed them to the limit.
Blog text (24) -
But that didn't mean they had an easy time of it.
Fiction book (2000) -
Facing the right direction, they have a much easier time of it.
Fiction book (2000) -
Hopefully they're having an easier time of it than you had.
-
But I told him my Louise was expecting, and she wasn't having an easy time of it.
Fiction book (1990) -
Martens knew she would not have an easy time of it when she accepted the Smith Barney job in 1985.
Academic text (1999) -
They just don't have an easy time of it.
Blog text (3) -
Tamil journalists who escape abroad by no means have an easy time of it, but they do at least have established support networks in the diaspora.
Blog text (18) -
Beth, dressed in a khaki poplin skirt and street shoes, wasn't having an easy time of it.
Fiction book (1997) -
My classmates who entered college when they were in their late 20s or even 30s after either serving in the military or after working for 10 years and going back to school had a much easier time of it; they were more mature and more responsible.
Blog text (1)
Synonyms
51
1.0
Something very easy to do
1
2.8
Easy to do and without problems after it starts
1
7.8
An easy task that needs little effort
A competition or test that is very easy to pass
Antonyms
How Easy
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning is directly derivable from the constituents: 'easy' (requiring little effort) modifies 'time' (a period/experience), so 'an easy time' naturally means an experience involving little trouble; the postmodifier 'of it' is a light pronoun construction that does not add an idiomatic non‑compositional sense. This compositional pattern (having an 'easy' period/experience) is common cross‑linguistically and would be accessible to a B1 learner who knows the component words.
Etymology
Easy time of it may come from the image of someone having an easy day, a short time with very little to do while others struggle. So it now means 'not difficult' or 'with little trouble'.