African time

In real, traceable use. Part of the curated seed collection; community review is coming.

Meaning · English

A notional system of time which others sometimes derogatorily ascribe to Africans, and which they sometimes jocularly ascribe to themselves, to account for their supposed tendency to be leisurely, not rigorous about scheduling, and often tardy.

Nghĩa · Tiếng Việt

Hệ thống thời gian tưởng tượng mà những người khác đôi khi gán cho người châu Phi một cách miệt thị, và những người khác đôi khi tự gán cho mình để giải thích xu hướng được cho là悠闲, không nghiêm ngặt về lịch trình và thường xuyên trễ nải

Machine-translated — suggest a fix

Register: derogatory, slang

Where it’s used: Used American English
Sources & notes

Adapted from English Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0, retrieved 2026-07-30 via kaikki.org).

Common questions

What does “African time” mean?

A notional system of time which others sometimes derogatorily ascribe to Africans, and which they sometimes jocularly ascribe to themselves, to account for their supposed tendency to be leisurely, not rigorous about scheduling, and often tardy.

Is “African time” formal or informal?

African time is generally derogatory, slang.