(See also TIMELINESS.)

field day A favorable time for accomplishment; a time rich with opportunity for enjoyment, profit, or success. This expression originally referred to a day scheduled for military maneuvers and war games. It still carries the literal meaning of a school day set aside for various outdoor activities and amusements, such as sports, games, or dances. The phrase was used figuratively by Aldous Huxley in his Letters (1953):

the goose hangs high Things are looking good, everything is rosy, the future looks promising. No satisfactory explanation has yet been offered to account for the origin of this expression. The theory that the phrase was originally the goose honks high, based on the unsubstantiated notion that geese fly higher on clear days than on cloudy ones, must be discounted for lack of evidence. This expression, which dates from at least 1863, was used to describe fine weather conditions before it was applied to the state of affairs in general.

pudding-time A favorable or opportune time; not too late; often in the phrase to come in pudding-time. This expression, now obsolete, literally means in time for dinner since pudding was at one time served at the start of this meal. The term dates from 1546.

strike while the iron is hot See EXPLOITATION.