Skip to main content
Jewish Standard time

Jewish Standard time

9.9
An informal, humorous way of being late for social events
  • noun
  • /ˈdʒuːɪʃ ˈstændərd taɪm/
  • Slur
translation icon : hora estándar judía (ofensivo)
  • You know you're running on Jewish Standard time when everyone arrives well after the scheduled hour.

Examples

  • Our dinner party always seems to start according to Jewish Standard time rather than the time on the invitation.

  • He apologized for being twenty minutes late, smiling and blaming it on Jewish Standard time.

  • It's just Jewish Standard time!

  • Don't worry; it's Jewish Standard time.

  • He apologized for being twenty minutes late, smiling and blaming it on Jewish Standard time.

  • Our dinner party always seems to start according to Jewish Standard time rather than the exact time on the invitation.

  • You know you're running on Jewish Standard time when your friends show up well after the planned hour.

Synonyms

African time
vsJewish Standard time
  • Offensive
9.5

A relaxed way of keeping time when people often arrive later than planned

is a playful social label for lateness rather than a neutral cultural practice
Micronesian time
vsJewish Standard time
  • Offensive
9.9

A relaxed way of keeping time where being late is normal

is used as a playful social excuse for being late rather than formal timing
Puerto Rican time
vsJewish Standard time
  • Offensive
9.6

A relaxed view of time in Puerto Rico where events often start later than planned

is a joking social phrase for lateness rather than a neutral observation
Samoan time
vsJewish Standard time
  • Australian
9.7

A relaxed way of keeping time when people often arrive late

is a humorous, informal social joke about being late rather than neutral

Antonyms

16 3.5

Arriving or finishing things at the agreed time

4 3.5

Doing something quickly and at the expected time

How Punctual

punctuality
16 3.5
Jewish Standard time
  • Slur
9.9

Surface Forms

Morphology

Jewish + standard + time

The literal constituents 'Jewish' + 'standard' + 'time' would suggest an accepted or official time, not the notion of lateness; the idiomatic meaning relies on a culturally specific, humorous stereotype about punctuality that is not derivable from the words themselves. Because the sense is culture-bound and unpredictable for learners who only know the component words, this expression is not transparently interpretable.

Etymology

Jewish Standard time is a joking expression from social life. One popular story says it comes from parties and family events where the time on the invitation was only a guide and people often arrived later, so the phrase now means 'not on time' or having a relaxed view of start times.