Talk:o'clock

This definition is way too confusing, especially number 2 (the one about relative position). Look at this one: http://www.thefreedictionary.com/o'clock --194.205.139.195 09:28, 25 September 2008 (UTC)

I don't think it does mean the exact hour. In ordinary conversation, many people will refer to 08:58, 08:59, 09:02 as "nine o'clock". If one means "exactly", one says "nine o'clock sharp" or "nine o'clock precisely" or something of that kind. So it may be that we should look for a better way of expressing this definition. The Spanish translation, "en punto", is also wrong for the same reason. --Someone else

Pronunciation
Is it /əˈklok/ or /əˈklɑk/ or /əˈklɒk/. I think the third one is RP and the second is GenAm, I don't know if the third exists. Ferike333 13:19, 5 July 2009 (UTC)

Query: Is "6.30 o'clock" correct usage? It certainly sounds wrong. The full expression "six-thirty of the clock", never used in practice, might be strictly right, but commonly we just say "six-thirty", leaving the "o'clock" implied. To use it in full seems pedantic. 85.211.69.71 16:32, 20 April 2010 (UTC)


 * As far as I know, you can only use o'clock with a whole number of hours (and a twelve-hour clock; even countries using the 24-hour clock don't seem to say things like "13 o'clock" for 1 p.m.). Equinox ◑ 16:34, 20 April 2010 (UTC)

RFC discussion: July 2011–May 2017
Definitions too wordy, too limited in scope. "Heading" implies motion, I think, but "o'clock" can refer to position relative to static object, albeit one with a front and a back. "Heading" is also itself a bit too jargony. The sense for "beer o'clock" (and similar) is missing. DCDuring TALK 14:44, 22 July 2011 (UTC)


 * Better now? Still wordy, but hopefully more precise, and the missing sense is there. Is it really an adverb? — Pingkudimmi 17:23, 23 July 2011 (UTC)
 * Yes, but I wouldn't take the tag off yet. Good job on the "beer o'clock"-type sense. The Clock position says that the direction clock can be either horizontal with 12 o'clock straight ahead or vertical with 12 o'clock straight up ("high"?).
 * As it is a contraction of a prepositional phrase, it could conceivably be used to modify either a verb (or adjective, adverb, or clause) or a noun, but I can't think of any instances of modification of a verb. "Twelve" in "twelve o'clock" seems to be a noun modified postpositively. So adjective would be better than adverb. We could also call it a contraction. I don't think we can call it a preposition phrase because it doesn't look enough like one. DCDuring TALK 19:50, 23 July 2011 (UTC)


 * Looks awesome now --Celui qui crée ébauches de football anglais (talk) 12:12, 22 May 2017 (UTC)

Two questions
1) Why do you consider o'clock to be an adverb? Because, theoretically, it stands for of clock? I'm not saying it isn't an adverb, but I'm not sure.

2) More importantly, couldn't What o'clock is it? be better described as, simply, old-fashioned? Thank you. Tom 37.100.93.1 14:13, 24 August 2021 (UTC)