time hangs heavy

Idioms  

1. Also, time hangs heavy on one's hands. Time passes slowly, as in She adjusted quite well to the nursing home, except that she says time hangs heavy on her hands. This metaphoric term, first recorded in the late 1760s, likens the passage of time to a burdensome weight.

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Example Sentences

This thankless task is attended to by sports writers on whose hands time hangs heavy when the football season is over.

From Time Magazine Archive

You see, time hangs heavy on my hands here.

From His Unknown Wife by Tracy, Louis

Lacking many of the indoor employments of the women of colder climates, time hangs heavy on their hands, idleness wearies, and they cast about for a way in which to amuse, enjoy, and distract themselves.

From The Aldine, Vol. 5, No. 1., January, 1872 A Typographic Art Journal by Various

The time hangs heavy with us; let us build a temple here to the living God, and to the honor of his Son.

From Christmas Eve and Christmas Day Ten Christmas stories by Hale, Edward E.

It is easy, and offers considerable excitement to the minds of those whose time hangs heavy on their hands.

From Marion Fay by Trollope, Anthony