Question

What is the meaning of the expression “time conflict”?

Answer 1

Hint: Expressions are phrases which have literal meanings in the most concise manner. The word conflict means struggle or opposition.

Complete answer:
The expression ‘time conflict’ refers to a state in which a person has to attend to activities at the same time. This can lead to a two outcomes;
1. The person remains in a dilemma, as to which activity they must take part in. In this case the person attends one activity and the other activity is sacrificed.
2. The person tries to take part in both activities by putting extra effort and cutting out on the time allotted for each activity. This approach can further have two outcomes
a) The person is able to take out enough time for both activities through extra efforts.
b) The person, even after putting extra efforts is not able to take out enough time for either of the activities, and eventually is dissatisfied with both activities.

Other phrases related to time are:
- Race against time – It is a situation when a person needs to rush to do something before the deadline or a time limit.
- Have a lot of time on your hands – A situation where a person has a lot of free time.
- The time is ripe – It means that it is the best time to do a certain thing.

Note:
i) An expression is different from an idiom. An expression is a set of words which literally mean it and are used to convey messages in a concise manner.
ii) Idioms on the other hand do not have a literal meaning, rather they have a figurative meaning. For e.g. Two-timing – It means to betray, deceive or cheat someone.