“not before time”の意味は

BBCのコメディー、『The Thick Of It』を観ながらETC英会話のチャールズ先生のレッスンを受けています。

英和辞書ではどうしても意味が分からない言葉があります。

例えば、こんな例文です。

it’s not before time that they are studying the safety of nuclear power stations.

It’s about time this happened or this should have happened sooner. It’s just like there is an essential law that the government needs to pass and it often happen for Japanese government. And they argue and argue, and lead the people suffer where they passed this law, that’s going to benefit us. But each politician has own his axe to grind, so things take time. So sometimes when good laws are passed, we say, “it’s not before time”.

Another example, if you complete it at the beginning,“it is not before time that Tepco cleaned up Fukushima power station.” There are a lot of people who don’t like Mr.Kan,”Mr.Kan can not go before time”. I have nothing against him. I just used it as sentences in an example.

■出演
・ETC英会話のチャールズ先生

■聞き手
・青樹洋文

………

◆使用楽曲 (BGM)
“Toxic Rainfall” of some1else from ccMixter