English Idiom: Punch the clock
Most of us punch the clock every day. Some of us want to, and some of us enjoy it, but many of us are looking forward to the day when we don’t have to do it anymore.
What does it mean?
Well, punch the clock means to go to work every day. The expression comes from time clocks which stamp a time card with the start and end time of your workday.
It doesn’t matter if you work in childcare, shipbuilding, or the IT industry. We all have to earn money to feed ourselves and our families.
Then there’s also the fact that if you go to work every day you’re punching the clock just working for the man.