The English We Speak: Around the clock
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Hello and welcome to The English We Speak, where we explain expressions used by fluent English speakers so that you can use them too. I'm Feifei. And I'm Phil. Feifei, you look like you haven't stopped working. I know, there's so much happening right now. I've been working around the clock. Why don't we have a closer look at that?

Around the clock. It's a nice image, but it doesn't mean that you've been going round an actual clock, does it? No, no. It just means all day and all night. For example, if you're available around the clock, people can contact you at any time. If you're working around the clock, then it means that you work all day and all night, like me. Sounds like you might need a break. Let's listen to some other people using the expression around the clock. MUSIC

I've got 50 people coming round for dinner tomorrow, so I've been cooking around the clock. I'm talking about wedding planning around the clock at the moment. I can't wait for it to be over, but I'm excited too. It's only a couple of weeks away. I've got a really important exam coming up, so I'm studying around the clock. I am so tired. We've been learning the expression around the clock. It means all day and all night.

But you'll also hear round the clock with round instead of around. The meaning is the same. Yes, and round the clock and around the clock are sometimes used before a noun as an adjectival phrase. Around the clock coverage or round the clock availability. Now, the great thing about our programmes is that they are available around the clock.

Yes, you can do round-the-clock practice with our programmes. Make sure you don't miss the next one. Bye! Bye!