question time
2
4.4
- noun
- /ˈkwɛs.tʃən taɪm/
- UK
:
tiempo de preguntas
- At question time, the Prime Minister answered several challenging questions from opposition members.
It is a form of instant Question Time, but one whereby absolutely any Member of Parliament can assume centre stage.
- It is a form of instant Question Time, but one whereby absolutely any Member of Parliament can assume centre stage.
Examples
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During question time, MPs can ask ministers about current issues and policies.
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I have to get back to the House for question time.
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At the end of his question time, he would move to the end of the line, hoping to ask another question.
Blog text (27) -
Speaker, first, this will be the last Question Time where I shall answer.
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Question time will come at the end of the session.
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During question time in the House of Commons today, the minister said that, in his view, local authorities should be given far wider...
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It's question time.
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Mission Local: "Question time" is a monthly question-and-answer session between San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee and the Board of Supervisors.
Blog text (9) -
Once, in the question time after a lecture in Dublin, I was asked what I thought about the widely publicized cases of sexual abuse by Catholic priests in Ireland.
Blog text (1) -
Anyone who has watched Question Time in either the House of Commons or the House of Lords of the British Parliament will know that there is a certain kind of institutional rudeness that is acceptable as part of the ritualized confrontational encounters that take place there.
Blog text (18)
Synonyms
2
3.2
A time when someone asks questions to find information
Surface Forms
Morphology
The phrase literally combines 'question' (a request for information) and 'time' (a span allotted for something) to mean 'a period for asking questions', so a B1 learner who knows the constituents can infer the general sense. Although it has a specific parliamentary use in British English, the noun+noun compositional pattern is predictable and cross-linguistically familiar, making the expression transparent.
Etymology
Question time comes from the British Parliament, where members had a set time to ask government ministers questions. That's why it now means a special period when officials are expected to 'answer questions'.