time will tell
9
3.3
- idiom
:
el tiempo lo dirá
- Only time will tell if the present government will finish its term.
- Only time will tell
Well, obviously time will tell, but here's what we've really got to do.
- Well, obviously time will tell, but here's what we've really got to do.
- That's my prayer and time will tell.
- I think the next step in life might include something like that for me but I guess only time will tell.
- Very little is certain anymore and only time will tell whether the army of the dead really did die for something or did not.
- And I, and I think that they're, you know, I, I think it, but I, I, we're so close to it, You know, I think time, time will tell.
- I think that the raid and all of that stuff, only time will tell who was involved, who had been a frequent guest and in these places and areas.
- And I'm afraid and time will tell, but I'm afraid I think we're on this path where I don't think they're going to get the growth in the next two or three years that they need.
- Yeah, You know, that that kind of like, fuck, time will tell.
Examples
-
At this point, this approach has yet to be successful—but only time will tell whether this will remain the case.
Academic text (2016) -
Whether this turns out to be effective, only time will tell.
Academic text (2003) -
Very little is certain anymore and only time will tell whether the army of the dead really did die for something or did not.
-
Again, whether this turns out to be a good investment or not, only time will tell.
Blog text (13) -
Only time will tell which operational provisions of Goals 2000 will work to improve schools.
Academic text (1994) -
Either bonds are in a bubble, or gold is, and only time will tell.
Blog text (25) -
Only time will tell whether all the lofty policy ambitions of the act are achieved.
Academic text (2003) -
Only time will tell if these USMA cadets, now graduates on active Army duty, maintain the same ideals.
Academic text (1998) -
Time will tell whether Segal and Segal's research is scientifically substantiated and accepted.
Academic text (2013) -
I believe this project will succeed, but only time will tell if we made the right choice.
Synonyms
58
5.3
We do not yet know what will happen
Antonyms
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning is directly derivable from the parts: 'time' (the passage/future), 'will' (future auxiliary) and 'tell' (reveal), so a learner can infer it means the outcome will be revealed later. This personification of 'time' is common across languages (e.g. Spanish 'el tiempo lo dirá'), making the expression predictable and transparent to a B1 learner who knows the constituents.
Etymology
The saying time will tell imagines time as a person who will tell what happens later. So, it means 'we will know the result' only after some time.