a whale of a time
1
6.1
- idiom
- Informal
:
un tiempo increíble
- I also caught up with Peter Doherty, who was having a whale of a time, and Frazer Irving, who is basically a one-man party in himself.
Examples
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We went to the amusement park and had a whale of a time riding all the thrilling rides.
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I'm a cowboy song ♪ ♪ I'm a little hoarse 'cause I sung too long ♪ ♪ Had a whale of a time
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I think you had a whale of a time.
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Just had a whale of a time.
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Let me show it to you in the light because sorry, I'm just having a whale of a time, just enjoying my wave.
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Everyone's having a whale of a time.
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And I know what he's thinking: Mouse is having herself a whale of a time.
Fiction book (1996) -
YOU'LL HAVE A WHALE OF A TIME WHEN YOU SEE ME AT THE WILLY SHOW!
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My seven-year-old son can navigate the web like a pro; he knows how to Google (probably without much finesse; no long tail just yet!) to get the Ben 10 or Spiderman games he wants to play and has a whale of a time playing with various educational sites in both the languages that he speaks.
Blog text (28) -
Everyone at the party was having a whale of a time dancing and laughing.
Synonyms
29
3.7
A very fun and memorable experience
A time that people enjoy very much
To have a lot of fun during an event or time
Antonyms
How Enjoyable
- Informal
29
3.7
- Informal
1
6.1
180
1.0
∞
1.0
Surface Forms
Morphology
There is a loose, partly predictable link: 'whale' evokes largeness and 'time' an occasion, so metaphorically 'a whale of a time' can be interpreted as a very large/remarkable time. However, the intensifying construction 'a whale of a' is idiomatic and requires a size→quality inference (big → enjoyable) that is metaphorical and not fully transparent to an average B1 learner without prior exposure.
Etymology
A whale of a time may come from the idea of a huge whale — people used 'whale' to mean something very big or impressive. So, today a whale of a time means 'extremely enjoyable'.