the time of one's life
29
3.7
- idiom
- Informal
:
la experiencia de su vida
- After a week of adventure and fun, I can honestly say I had the time of my life at the festival.
- have the time of your life
- hope you had the time of your life
- the time of my life," she said
Examples
-
And I've been having the time of my life ever since.
Fiction book (1991) -
Once you learn the tricks, you are going to have the time of your life making videos!
Blog text (30) -
We came up here, I had the time of my life.
-
Meanwhile, guess who was having the time of her life.
-
Have the time of your life.
-
You had the time of your life last night.
-
"I want to have the time of my life at this party," she said.
Fiction book (1998) -
I'm having the time of my life.
-
He's probably having the time of his life.
-
Safe to say, you're about to have the time of your lives.
Synonyms
1
6.1
A time when you have a lot of fun
A very enjoyable experience you remember
Antonyms
How Enjoyable
58
3.4
- Informal
29
3.7
∞
1.0
∞
1.0
314
1.0
Surface Forms
Morphology
the + time + of + one's + life
The phrase is built from transparent parts — 'time' + 'of one's' + 'life' readily yields 'a time in someone's life,' which a B1 learner can derive. However, the conventionalized evaluative sense ('the most enjoyable or memorable experience') is an extended, idiomatic reading not fully predictable from the literal parts without exposure, so it is only partially transparent.
Etymology
The time of one's life comes from the image of a short period that is so full of joy and excitement it feels like living a whole happy life in that moment. So, it now means 'an extremely enjoyable or unforgettable experience'.