doesn't time pass slowly

English translation: time passes slowly when you're not having fun

14:27 Apr 21, 2020
English language (monolingual) [PRO]
Other / Reading
English term or phrase: doesn't time pass slowly
It's still my thirtieth birthday -- yes, doesn't time pass slowly when you're having fun?

It comes from All I Want by Margaret Johnson, Chapter 4.
I don't quite understand the meaning of this phrase. In fact, time does pass slowly when you're not having fun.
Or does the author mean something else?
Sterk
Ukraine
Local time: 08:25
Selected answer:time passes slowly when you're not having fun
Explanation:
The author is playing on the phrase "time flies when you're having fun".

Instead, by saying "doesn't time pass slowly when you're having fun" he's implying that he's not having fun and that time is therefore passing slowly. But by saying "when you're having fun" when he actually means that he's not having fun, he's being sarcastic.
Selected response from:

Eda Kurç
Mexico
Local time: 00:25
Grading comment
Thank you very much.
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



SUMMARY OF ALL EXPLANATIONS PROVIDED
5 +3time passes slowly when you're not having fun
Eda Kurç
5When you have a good time you do not notice the passage of time.
Ali Sharifi
5she is being sarcastic
Yvonne Gallagher
4happy moments pass quickly and vice verse
adel almergawy
Summary of reference entries provided
Ref.
Lingua 5B

Discussion entries: 2





  

Answers


10 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 5/5 peer agreement (net): +3
time passes slowly when you're not having fun


Explanation:
The author is playing on the phrase "time flies when you're having fun".

Instead, by saying "doesn't time pass slowly when you're having fun" he's implying that he's not having fun and that time is therefore passing slowly. But by saying "when you're having fun" when he actually means that he's not having fun, he's being sarcastic.

Eda Kurç
Mexico
Local time: 00:25
Native speaker of: Native in TurkishTurkish, Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 4
Grading comment
Thank you very much.

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  philgoddard: Yes, I think it must be sarcasm - presumably the context will confirm this. It is confusing, though.
53 mins
  -> Thanks Phil!

agree  Tina Vonhof (X)
3 hrs
  -> Thanks Tina!

agree  Dhiiraj: Good explanation
1 day 21 hrs
  -> Thank you!
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15 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 5/5
When you have a good time you do not notice the passage of time.


Explanation:
Einstein says if you want to understand the theory of relativity compare the time a young man spends with a girl for an hour and it seems to him just a few minutes, with the time one spends sitting on a hot iron for a few seconds but it seems so long.

Ali Sharifi
United States
Local time: 02:25
Native speaker of: Native in Persian (Farsi)Persian (Farsi)
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2 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 5/5
she is being sarcastic


Explanation:
The part I found strange here was "it's STILL my thirtieth birthday" so I went looking for the excerpt from the book to check the context. When it's literary context it's really necessary to read the previous and/or subsequent sentences. Since this is the opening line of Chap 4 the meaning becomes clear when reading further....

Yes, it's her 30th birthday and her boyfriend is treating her to a meal BUT she's feeling miserable and the day/evening seems interminable (so that explains the still". In other words, she's thinking: will this never end?)

The other thing that's making her miserable is that she has a crush on her boss (Brad) and wants to break up with her boyfriend (Barry) but can't bring herself to tell him this when he is being nice to her, getting the waiters to bring balloons and sing "Happy Birthday" to her thinking this will please her. But it's having the opposite effect.

CHAPTER FOUR

Talking Isn’t Always Easy

It’s still my thirtieth birthday - yes, doesn’t time pass slowly when you’re having fun? Barry has suggested we stay in this restaurant now, so here we are, sitting at a table for two with romantic music playing in the background. ..

This is how I’m feeling: Old. Fat. Foolish. Jealous.

You’ll probably be thinking that things can’t get any worse. If you are, then you’re quite wrong. Barry’s looking at me with a pleased kind of expression on his face.

the entire restaurant staff are walking towards me, smiling in just the same way Barry’s smiling. They stop a metre or so away from our table, all except one girl who’s holding a large bunch of balloons.

‘Happy birthday, Alex,’ she says, and ties the balloons to the back of my chair. Then she steps back to join the rest of the staff and they all start to sing. Very loudly.

‘Happy birthday to you. Happy birthday to you. Happy birthday, dear Alex. Happy birthday to you!’

The balloons surround my face: green, blue, yellow and red. I want to die.

Then, just when I think the nightmare’s over, one of the waiters ...shouts, .... ‘Today is Alex Faye’s thirtieth birthday! Thirty today! Three cheers for Alex!’

...I try to speak. I’m only able to whisper very very quietly. ‘Thank you,’ I say. ‘Thank you very much.’

I now feel old, fat, foolish, jealous and embarrassed.

Thank you Barry. Thank you life. Thank you very much.


...he has no idea how I feel at all....Barry has been my boyfriend for two years. Two years. And he has no idea at all that this is the worst day of my entire life.



Yvonne Gallagher
Ireland
Local time: 06:25
Works in field
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 129

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
neutral  philgoddard: The context is useful, but Eda has already said that it's sarcasm.
14 mins
  -> Context is everything, in literature especially. You found it "confusing"!
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3 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5
happy moments pass quickly and vice verse


Explanation:
hard times pass slowly

adel almergawy
Egypt
Local time: 08:25
Native speaker of: Native in ArabicArabic
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Reference comments


5 hrs
Reference: Ref.

Reference information:
For example, the perceived passage of time can slow down when we’re doing something new, such as learning a challenging skill or going on vacation to an exotic locale.

Paradoxically, then, time is perceived to pass slowly in situations where there is almost nothing happening or a great deal is happening.

In other words, the complexity of the situation is either much higher or much lower than normal


    https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-4137410/Research-reveals-time-fly-slow-down.html
Lingua 5B
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Native speaker of: Native in SerbianSerbian, Native in CroatianCroatian
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