其實這句話出自於壹句很早（上世紀初）壹個劇本《Ennui the Timekiller》裏的臺詞，原文如下：: I've an idea I don't like the Lady Waitfor't - she wishes to trick me out of my match with Miss Coutney, and if I could trick her in return - (_takes out his watch_). How goes the enemy - only one o'clock! I thought it had been that an hour ago. (_The Dramatist_)
Ennui 的畢生事業就是時間殺手，所以才劇中才有了How go the enemy?（現在幾點了）這句話，意思就是“時間殺手這個敵人現在怎麽樣了？”喻指幾點鐘了。嚴格意義上說，這並不是俚語，而是壹句流行語，所以並沒有什麽實際意義。