# Quando esci dal lavoro?



## antofix85

Ciao come si dice in inglese ''Quando esci da lavoro?'' (nel senso di ''a che ora'')?

E giusto dire: ''When do you leave work?''


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## Alessandrino

antofix85 said:


> Ciao come si dice in inglese ''Quando esci da lavoro?'' (nel senso di ''a che ora'')?
> 
> E giusto dire: ''When do you leave work?''


Ciao!
Un modo per dirlo è _What time are you off (work)?_


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## chipulukusu

Un modo molto comune di dire è anche "_what time do you knock off (at work)?"._


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## MR1492

Some other would be:

What time do you leave the office/work?
What is quitting time?
What time do you quit work?
What time do you get off (work)?
What time do you get out of work?

You can also use:

When do you blow this pop stand?
When do you hit the road?

Phil


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## chipulukusu

MR1492 said:


> When do you blow this pop stand?



This is fantastic Phil!
I imagine it's American, I've never heard it...


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## AlabamaBoy

MR1492 said:


> Some other possibilities would be:
> 
> (1) What time do you leave the office/work?
> (2) What is quitting time?
> (3) What time do you quit work?
> (4) What time do you get off (work)?
> (5) What time do you get out of work?
> (6) When do you blow this pop stand?
> (7) When do you hit the road?


I would suggest (1) (formal)  and (4) (informal)  for the beginner as the most common and easily understood versions. I have heard them in both American and British contexts.

Note: (6) and (7) are at best flippant and at worst could be considered rude and "in your face" .


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## Willower

I agree with AlabamaBoy. I've never heard (2) or (6) - (6) is colourful, but I'm not sure what it means  We don't have pop stands in Wales 

   We'd also say _What time do you finish [work]?_


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## rrose17

I've always heard it as "Let's blow this popsicle stand" meaning simply let's leave. I agree with AB.


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## AlabamaBoy

In the movie Aladdin, you can hear Robin Williams (the Genie) say "Let's blow this Popsicle stand." Other than that, I haven't heard the phrase until now.


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## MR1492

"Let's blow this pop stand" is a variant of "Let's blow this popsicle stand."  Blow, in this case, means "to leave."  As to why we use pop or popsicle stand, I just don't know for sure!

Phil


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## Teerex51

antofix85 said:


> Ciao come si dice in inglese ''Quando esci da lavoro?''


For the record, the Italian sentence I've always heard is _quando esci *dal *lavoro_.

As for colloquial variations on this theme, I can only think of _A che ora stacchi dal lavoro._


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## Tegs

I love the popsicle stand idiom! Never heard it before now  

I'd avoid using _What time are you off (work)? _which was mentioned earlier - this means quando non lavori, rather than quando esci. You use "off work" more for talking about holidays (When are you off work? - I'm off for three days in May.)


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## Odysseus54

Teerex51 said:


> For the record, the Italian sentence I've always heard is _quando esci *dal *lavoro_.



Anch'io.


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## curiosone

Of the list provided by MR1492 in post #4, I think no.2 should read "_When_ is quitting time?" (informal), and I'd remove no.7 "When do you hit the road?" from the list entirely, as it has a different meaning.  "When/what time do you hit the road" is usually heard in reference to someone departing for a road trip (usually a long one, where you might want an early start).


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## MR1492

curiosone said:


> "When/what time do you hit the road" is usually heard in reference to someone departing for a road trip (usually a long one, where you might want an early start).



You may be correct about the predominant use in another context but it is also frequently used in general terms when leaving someplace.  It might be changing meaning over time.

Phil


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## curiosone

MR1492 said:


> You may be correct about the predominant use in another context but it is also frequently used in general terms when leaving someplace.  It might be changing meaning over time.
> 
> Phil



I suppose the main point I was trying to make was that "hitting the road" implies covering some distance.  So if you commute (or have a long drive to get home) it would be applicable.  But I wouldn't understand it specifically as "uscire dal lavoro."


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## chipulukusu

chipulukusu said:


> Un modo molto comune di dire è anche "_what time do you knock off (at work)?"._



Anzi, più precisamente (in my opinion)

_what time do you knock off at work = _A che ora esci dal lavoro di solito/qual'è il tuo orario di uscita alla sera
_what time do you knock off today = _A che ora finisci di lavorare oggi (non è detto che sia la stessa cosa).

I'm a bit surprised that nobody else has mentioned _to knock off;_ I thought it was a very commom idiom for leaving the workplace at the end of the day.


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## Willower

Hi Chip, in BrE, we'd say "_What time do you knock off work_?" - you don't need the "_at_".  I'm not sure but I think this might be a slightly old fashioned phrase  (I've never heard my adult children using it , but my partner uses it quite a lot).


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## Tegs

Willower said:


> I think this might be a slightly old fashioned phrase  (I've never heard my adult children using it , but my partner uses it quite a lot).



I think you're right. I know of the phrase "to knock off work" but I've never used it and don't hear anyone else using it either.


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## chipulukusu

Thank you very much Willower and Tegs, this sets the matter at rest (I AM old-fashioned by the way ).


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## curiosone

I also suspect that "to knock off work" may be more BrE than AmE (or even before MY generation ), as I'm not familiar with it.


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## MR1492

Willower said:


> Hi Chip, in BrE, we'd say "_What time do you knock off work_?" - you don't need the "_at_".  I'm not sure but I think this might be a slightly old fashioned phrase  (I've never heard my adult children using it , but my partner uses it quite a lot).





curiosone said:


> I also suspect that "to knock off work" may be more BrE than AmE (or even before MY generation ), as I'm not familiar with it.



Agree with Willower completely.  

@curiosone - I am surprised at myself that I didn't remember "to knock off work."  It might be used a lot in BE but it's also quite common where I came from in the USA.  

Phil


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## Willower

Apparently there's a reference to "knock off work"  from 1651 http://english.stackexchange.com/qu...s-for-the-phrases-knock-it-off-and-cut-it-out      I imagine it refers to some procedure that was done in a particular work context at the end of the day.


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## chipulukusu

Willower said:


> Apparently there's a reference to "knock off work"  from 1651 http://english.stackexchange.com/qu...s-for-the-phrases-knock-it-off-and-cut-it-out      I imagine it refers to some procedure that was done in a particular work context at the end of the day.



I said I'm old-fashioned, but I didn't mean THAT much! 
But at least today I've learnt that _knock off _​is transitive and not intransitive! Thank you


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## curiosone

MR1492 said:


> Agree with Willower completely.
> 
> @curiosone - I am surprised at myself that I didn't remember "to knock off work."  It might be used a lot in BE but it's also quite common where I came from in the USA.
> 
> Phil



Thanks for the input, Phil.  I shall stand corrected (perhaps the explanation is that I have never actually worked in the U.S., except as a student).  The only other explanation might be that it takes time for some language to cross the Appalachians (and hillbillies are notorious for their attachment to Elizabethan idioms! ).


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## Odysseus54

curiosone said:


> Thanks for the input, Phil.  I shall stand corrected (perhaps the explanation is that I have never actually worked in the U.S., except as a student).  The only other explanation might be that it takes time for some language to cross the Appalachians (and hillbillies are notorious for their attachment to Elizabethan idioms! ).




I have never heard 'knock off work' - I just completed my 28th year in Miami.

I would say and expect to hear most of the times 'to get off work'.


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## MR1492

Odysseus54 said:


> I have never heard 'knock off work' - I just completed my 28th year in Miami.
> 
> I would say and expect to hear most of the times 'to get off work'.



That's because in Spanish it would probably be "dejar al trabajo," Ody!  Seriously, I won't say that it's commonly used but it's not unheard of using "knock off work."  It might be local or regional.  I grew up in Western Pennsylvania and I know it was used there.

Phil


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## joanvillafane

New York too!  Possibly a little dated, Phil.  I remember my Dad saying it.


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## chipulukusu

A quick survey involving my family, friends and acquaintances revealed that "_What time do you knock off_" is still widely used in several African countries like Zambia, Malawi, Zimbabwe and Botswana.
I think it is one component of my _heritage _English that I still have to come to terms with, like _at fifteen hours_ instead of _at 3 p.m._ and _You'll find me there_ instead of _We'll meet there _


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## london calling

chipulukusu said:


> A quick survey involving my family, friends and acquaintances revealed that "_What time do you knock off_" is still widely used in several African countries like Zambia, Malawi, Zimbabwe and Botswana.


I use it all the time.


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## giacinta

london calling said:


> I use it all the time.


Me too!


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## curiosone

Maybe we could say it's considered a bit old-fashioned in AmE, then (and that its use is also perhaps colloquial to certain areas).  I never heard my father use this expression, but he wasn't a Yankee!


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## sound shift

Tegs said:


> I think you're right. I know of the phrase "to knock off work" but I've never used it and don't hear anyone else using it either.


I've used it - but then I am a few years older than you. I think I've tended to omit the "work", because this seems to me to be implied, particularly if there has been previous discussion of work.


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## chipulukusu

london calling said:


> I use it all the time.



In fact I was sure it was widespreadly common and I was surprised to see native speakers not mentioning it at all! And the version I'm most familiar with is _I'm knocking off_ without _work, _like sound shift has said.


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