Common American Phrases in Everyday Contexts (213 page)

through no fault of
someone's
own 1
.
not because of someone's fault.
We ended up missing the entire ceremony through no fault of our own
.
Through no fault of his own, he failed third grade. His eyes were bad, and nobody caught it
.
2
.
not because of someone's skill, luck, or planning; in spite of all the bad things that happened. (Irony. Here
fault
= skill, effort, planning.)
We got to the ceremony right on time—through no fault of our own
.
Through no fault of our own, we managed to amass a small fortune by the time we were each forty years old.

throw the book at
someone to give someone, especially a defendant in court, the maximum punishment. (As if a judge were to throw a law book at a defendant, thereby charging the defendant with all the crimes in the book.)
The judge was really angry and threw the book at the poor slob just because he kept interrupting
.
Wow, was my boss mad at me. He threw the book at me and said if I ever did it again, I'd be out of a job.

Till later
.
Go to (Good-bye) until then.

Till next time
.
Go to Good-bye for now.

Till then
.
Go to (Good-bye) until then.

Till we meet again
.
Go to Good-bye for now.

Time for a change
.
Go to (It's) time for a change.

Time I left
.
Go to (It's) time I left.

Time (out)
!
Stop everything for just a minute!
“Hey, stop a minute! Time out!” yelled Mary as the argument grew in intensity.
Right in the middle of the discussion, Alice said, “Time!” Then she announced that dinner was ready.

Time to call it a day
.
It's time to quit for the day.
J
ANE
: Well, I'm done. Time to call it a day. S
UE
: Yes, let's get out of here
.
J
ANE
: Well, I've done too much work. S
UE
: Yes, it's late. Time to call it a day.

Time to call it a night
.
It's time to quit one's activities for the night. (Can refer to work or partying.)
B
OB
: Wow, it's late! Time to call it a night. M
ARY
: Yes, it's really dark! Good night
.
F
RED
: Gee, I'm tired. Look at the time! J
ANE
: Yes, it's time to call it a night.