overtime
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Puzzle #134 · October 13, 2025
Overtime means work beyond your regular hours—but it gained legal teeth in 1938. Before that, employers could push workers as long as they wanted. Then Congress passed the Fair Labor Standards Act, establishing the 40-hour work week and time-and-a-half pay. Suddenly, that extra hour on Friday had a price tag. To be clear, the law didn't invent overtime; it made it matter.
Sports had already claimed the word for extra periods, usually in case of a tie at the end of regular play. But American workers got the real victory: the law that made exhaustion expensive. See more at https://www.etymonline.com/word/overtime
Sports had already claimed the word for extra periods, usually in case of a tie at the end of regular play. But American workers got the real victory: the law that made exhaustion expensive. See more at https://www.etymonline.com/word/overtime
Puzzle Appearances
The expression overtime has appeared in 1 puzzle:
- Puzzle #134 on October 13, 2025
Rate of Appearance in English Language Print
Google's Ngram project shows how often a pair of words has appeared in print every year since the 1800's.
Data from Google Books Ngram Viewer. Licensed under CC BY 3.0.
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