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Glite Dictionary
to put the clock back

to put the clock back

7.6
To wish you could go back to an earlier time to change things or live it again
  • phrasal verb
  • UK
translation icon : volver atrás en el tiempo
  • Sometimes she wishes she could put the clock back and relive her childhood summers.

Examples

  • It's impossible to put the clock back, but we can learn from our mistakes.

  • If I could put the clock back, I would make a different decision.

  • I wish I could put the clock back to my childhood.

  • Can we put the clock back and start over?

  • Sometimes I wish I could put the clock back to relive my childhood.

  • After the argument, he often fantasized about ways to put the clock back and fix his mistakes.

  • In her dreams, she could put the clock back and change the decisions that led to her heartbreak.

Synonyms

to turn back the clock
vsto put the clock back
  • Informal
11 5.2

To go back to an earlier time or wish you could

wishes to return mainly to change events or relive past
to rewind time
vsto put the clock back
7.6

To imagine going back to an earlier time because you regret something

expresses return desire focused on changing events rather than just reflecting
to roll back the years
vsto put the clock back
  • Informal
6.9

Make someone feel young again when they remember the past

means wanting an earlier time to change events rather than just feeling young

Antonyms

to move ahead
61 2.7

To start or continue something so it gets closer to a goal

to embrace change
3 3.8

To willingly accept and adapt to new situations

How Nostalgic

to put the clock back
  • UK
7.6
to look back
323 2.6

Surface Forms

put the clock back infinitive
put the clock back past
put the clock back past participle
putting the clock back present participle
puts the clock back third person singular

Morphology

put + the + clock + back

The meaning is a metaphorical extension of the literal composition—'put' + 'clock' + 'back' suggests reversing the clock, which maps onto returning to an earlier time, so a learner who knows the words can plausibly infer the intended sense. However, it requires making a conceptual leap from setting a clock backward to wishing to undo past events, a common but somewhat idiomatic metaphor found across languages, so it is not fully transparent.

Etymology

Put the clock back comes from the simple image of moving a real clock so the time goes back, as if you could return to an earlier hour. That's why it means 'to wish you could go back to an earlier time'.