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Reader question: Please explain this passage, particularly "time of day": "After another argument yesterday, nobody answered his posts any more. I think I'll ask him to quit the chat group because he's no longer given the time of day." My comments: Oh, this means after yet another argument, an awkward situation has arisen, in which one person (he) finds himself isolated by the group. Nobody answers his posts any more. Hence, the speaker (I) thinks he'll ask that person to quit the chat group lest the situation become too awkward for them all. Chat groups have awkward arguments all the time and, of course, it's no good. But I'm steering clear of the subject all together because I'm not going to say who's wrong, who's right. Because I don't know. I'm clueless. I have absolutely no idea. So I'll stick with the question over "time of day". Literally, "time of day", an American expression, refers to the time as indicated by the clock. If you ask someone: "What time is it?" They reply: "2:30." You say: "Thank you." To wit, 2:30 is the time of day. In the idiom, however, if someone is not given the time of day, it literally means that when they ask what time it is, you do not reply. You ignore the question. In real life, that's very impolite, of course, for anyone being asked that simple question to act like that. After all, as the fellow says, it doesn't cost anything to tell the time of day. | 
