Click below to listen to the phrase.
Choose the correct definition a, b or c.
a) to have a bad day
Sorry, wrong answer. Please try again.
b) to have a good time
Well done ! That’s the right answer.
If someone is having ‘a whale of a time’, then they are having a great time and having fun.
French translation
s’amuser comme un fou, s’éclater
How NOT to translate : *avoir un temps de baleine
...................................................
Examples in context
‘An Arctic summer ! Bears, bald eagles and having a whale of a time in sunny Alaska’
‘To many minds, Alaska is wild, remote and impossibly cold.
True, for most of the eight long, dark months of the year, when dog sledging and the Northern Lights are the main reasons to visit.
But summer in America’s largest - and only Arctic - state heralds a season of energy and adventure ; of hiking, fishing, whale-watching, moose and bear-spotting, and some of the world’s most scenically spectacular rail trips.’
Daily Mail, 13th July 2013
............
‘Having a whale of a time... till giant’s tail flick sends surfers flying’
’The last thing Bishan Rajapakse remembered before everything went black was paddling towards a 40-foot whale off Bondi Beach and inquiring of the giant mammal : "Hey, how’s it going ?"
Mr Rajapakse, a New Zealand doctor, was among a dozen or so surfers transfixed by the whale - said to be "the size of a bus" - which surfaced close to the beach this morning and frolicked among them, before giving a flick of its gigantic tail.’
BBC News, 14 June 2013
...................................................
Everyday usage
Thanks for organising this event. I’m having a whale of a time !
You will have an amazing time on holiday. I have been to that country and had a whale of a time !
c) to rain heavily
Sorry, wrong answer. Please try again.
Missed last week’s phrase ? Catch up here
