bottom of the hour
Half past something
The bottom of the hour is the half-hour mark—:30 on any clock.
Radio and television use it for scheduling: We'll have traffic updates at the top and bottom of the hour.
The phrase contrasts with top of the hour, which means :00.
- half pastThirty minutes in
- television programScheduled content for viewers
- timepieceHour-measuring device
- commercial breakBroadcast advertising interval
- midpointExact center between two
on the dot · right on time · minute hand · clock face · station identification · local news · running late · time check · live feed · wristwatch · time flies · timer · in no time · time crunch · split second · just in time · chronometry · stopwatch
time position within the hour
bottom of the hourtop of the hour
Exact beginning of hour
on the hour · quarter past · quarter to · o'clock · quarter of
bottom, bottoms, bottomed, bottoming, bottomless, hour, hours, hourly, hourglass