twenty to
Almost quarter-to
Twenty to indicates a time twenty minutes before the hour: It's twenty to five means 4:40.
The phrase follows the pattern of telling time by how many minutes remain until the next hour, common in British English and somewhat old-fashioned in American speech, where four forty is more typical.
- nineteenEighth prime number
- quarter toTime notation phrase
- ten toTime before hour
- five toMinutes until o'clock
- minuteSixtieth of an hour
hour · imminent · verge · clock · near · countdown · time check · on the dot · close · sundial · forthcoming · impending · subtract · soon · schedule · watch · approach · timer