ahead of one's time

1. In advance of current ideas, customs, or methods, as in His treatment of light showed this painter to be well ahead of his time, or Wearing trousers and smoking cigars marked Amy Lowell as a woman ahead of her time. This idiom uses time in the sense of “era” or “generation,” a usage at least a thousand years old. The phrase is usually but not always used to express approval. [First half of 1900s]

Example Sentences

But it is not “a great merit” to be “ahead of one’s time,” nor is it actually possible.

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While it’s hard to imagine this Emily is introspective enough to be any kind of poet, let alone Emily Dickinson, the show is unassuming and charming, mixing things up to convey the jarring weirdness of being ahead of one’s time.

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Recurring themes include the difficulties of being a genius ahead of one’s time, the pervasive sexism that blocks talented women from achieving their potential, the intolerance of religious authorities, same-sex love, and the folly of believing that life must be sacrificed for art.

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There is a good deal of ambiguity about the stereotyped phrase "ahead of one's time."

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