nine to five

nine to five

From 9 AM to 5 PM, considered the standard office hours for most workers. Can be used as an adjective before a noun, in which case the phrase is hyphenated. I got so depressed working nine to five behind a desk that I finally sold all my belongings and moved to India to teach English. When I was in college, all I wanted was a steady nine-to-five job that would pay a decent salary.
See also: five, nine
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

nine to five

typical office hours.
See also: five, nine
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary

ˌnine to ˈfive

normal office working hours: After years working nine to five in a boring job, he set off to sail round the world. She’d had a typical nine-to-five job in the civil service before she worked in the theatre.
See also: five, nine
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary

nine-to-five

mod. typical in terms of working hours; structured and scheduled, starting and ending at set times. (From the expression from nine to five, normal working hours.) I really wanted a nine-to-five job until I finally got one.
McGraw-Hill's Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions
See also:
  • dooper
  • Can do
  • can-do
  • duper
  • double or nothing
  • a round robin
  • round robin
  • eleventh hour
  • heads I win, tails you lose
  • bleeding edge
References in periodicals archive
Whereas the constitutional amendments calendar enters a crucial phase next week when a parliamentary committee is expected to conclude a public participation report ahead of the second reading of the IEBC Act (Amendment) Bill, which reduces the number of IEBC commissioners from nine to five, a legal framework that provides details of conducting referendums in compliance with the Constitution is still in the works.
Why holding referendum may be pipe dream before 2022
"I'm in work nine to five and they're in lectures nine to five and they know the level I'm at so they can relate to me and I can relate to them."
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DCI Banks ITV, 9pm Stephen Tompkinson would be wasted behind a desk in a boring nine to five office job - as an actor, he's proved he's versatile if nothing else.
MONDAY'S TV 3.02.14; CHOICE
Tallinn Amy Lennox has a big bra to fill playing a role made famous by Dolly Parton in musical Nine To Five – and she admits she needs some help.
I needed some extra padding and chicken fillets for my Parton shot; STAGE STAR ON FILLING DOLLY'S BRA
LAST week you reported how one in three BBC employees are claiming almost pounds 4,000 a year extra because they do not work nine to five.
LAST week you reported how [...]; Your say
If they want to be treated like adults, why not insist that they attend university five days a week, nine to five, with only five weeks' holiday per year?
VENT YOUR SPLEEN
We think work might be getting on her nerves at the moment thanks to the inclusion of Nine To Five.
WIN hmv VOUCHERS; MYPOD
HELLO Darling is actually a cheap copy of a 1980 Hollywood flick called Nine To Five , but never mind.
3 girls & a cheap copy
Two out of five wanted to give up the traditional nine to five working day in favour of less rigid work patterns and a similar number were keen to spend more time working from home.
Homework pressures for staff
The eccentric former child star - formerly James Harries - was on the show last week discussing transgender issues when she began trying to plug her new TV show, Nine to Five.
Harries banned
The drive to see employers drop the routine nine to five office hours will take a step forward when a Work Wise leader is recruited later this year.
Support puts drive on fresh footing; Flexible work 'could help close divide' WORK WISE UK North East
Now Dolly has written the musical Nine To Five. Her book charity Imagination Library is in talks with British towns to spread the scheme.
I was a dirt-poor kid who played on home-made guitar
A parenting guide for those who don't live in the beautiful nuclear family that 1950s America so happily painted for us or even the 90s where both Mom and Dad had nine to five jobs--what if Mom and Dad don't have those sort of jobs?
My Mother Wears Combat Boots
A country and western fan has been hit with a noise ban after her passion for Dolly Parton classics such as Nine to Five sounded a sour note with her neighbours, a council said yesterday.
Sound of silence
Banking firm first direct said its study showed that 16% of all hours spent at work were outside nine to five.
Forget the 9 to 5, now we're working the 5 to 9