--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: What time is it?\" \"Time?\" \"Time.\" \"Oh,\"…" description: "\"“What time is it?\" \"Time?\" \"Time.\" \"Oh,\" She said. \"A quarter to four. Mr. Markham, something terrible has happened.\" She didn't have to tell me that. ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/234/lawrence-block-6776_time_what-time-is-it-time-time-oh-she-said-a_1991471.jpg" --- # What time is it?" "Time?" "Time." "Oh," She said. "A… ![“What time is it?" "Time?" "Time." "Oh," She said. "A quarter to four. Mr. Markham, something terrible has happened." She didn't have to tell me that. Something perfectly dreadful had happened, by God. Someone had called me in the middle of the bloody night.” quote by Lawrence Block](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/234/lawrence-block-6776_time_what-time-is-it-time-time-oh-she-said-a_1991471.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/234/lawrence-block-6776_time_what-time-is-it-time-time-oh-she-said-a_1991471.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/234/lawrence-block-6776_time_what-time-is-it-time-time-oh-she-said-a_1991471.jpg) > ““What time is it?" "Time?" "Time." "Oh," She said. "A quarter to four. Mr. Markham, something terrible has happened." She didn't have to tell me that. Something perfectly dreadful had happened, by God. Someone had called me in the middle of the bloody night.”” [Lawrence Block](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-block/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A character receives a dire warning in the night, implying a looming disaster that must be faced. **In simple terms:** A warning arrives at night about a terrible event. Key Takeaway Prepare for unexpected crises. Themes danger warning night crisis Mood tense urgent Type dramatic narrative When to use this quote - investigation - emergency response - personal safety Key Concepts foreshadowing suspense Questions to Reflect On - How would you verify such a warning? - What steps would you take immediately? A Different Perspective The warning may be misinterpreted or cause panic. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Dreadful Happened](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dreadful-happened-752910/) [Happened](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happened/) [Happened Didn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happened-didn-644599/) [Happened God](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happened-god-1310751/) [Terrible Happened](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/terrible-happened-763689/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [“this thing seems more dreadful than anything else that has ever happened, more utterly dreadful — but you’ll find that it will pass and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/radclyffe-hall/this-thing-seems-more-dreadful-than-anything-else-that-has-ever/) [Radclyffe Hall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/radclyffe-hall/) > [I'm not sure when it happened. I didn't mean for it to, but somewhere along the way I fell in love with you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-m-not-sure-when-it-happened-i-didn-t-mean-for-it-to-but-somewhere/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I've never really done anything to create what has happened. It creates itself. I'm here because it happened. But I didn't do anything to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ringo-starr/i-ve-never-really-done-anything-to-create-what-has-happened-it/) [Ringo Starr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ringo-starr/) > [There are no scores for good intention, it either happened or it didn't. Get to work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-kang/there-are-no-scores-for-good-intention-it-either-happened-or-it-didn/) [Maria Kang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-kang/) > [I’ve had a great life, and it all happened because I didn’t plan any of it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eugene-walter/i-ve-had-a-great-life-and-it-all-happened-because-i-didn-t-plan-any/) [Eugene Walter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eugene-walter/) > [It was possible that a miracle was not something that happened to you, but rather something that didn’t.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-picoult/it-was-possible-that-a-miracle-was-not-something-that-happened-to-you/) [Jodi Picoult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-picoult/) > [“I jumped on Sinbad's bottle. Nothing happened. I didn't do it again. Sometimes when nothing happened it was really getting ready to happen”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roddy-doyle/i-jumped-on-sinbad-s-bottle-nothing-happened-i-didn-t-do-it-again/) [Roddy Doyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roddy-doyle/) > [“I can't say 'why me,' Brady. That's one of the big no-can-do's. Because if I do that now that bad stuff has happened to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-lupica/i-can-t-say-why-me-brady-that-s-one-of-the-big-no-can-do-s-because-if/) [Mike Lupica](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-lupica/) > [“I want you to know that what happened with me and your mom happened because we didn’t really try to make it work. We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harper-st-george/i-want-you-to-know-that-what-happened-with-me-and-your-mom-happened/) [Harper St. George](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harper-st-george/) > [“She tried to worry that something terrible had happened to him, but didn't believe it for a moment. Nothing terrible ever happened to him,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-adams/she-tried-to-worry-that-something-terrible-had-happened-to-him-but/) [Douglas Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-adams/) > [“Nothing comes ahead of its time, and nothing has ever happened that didn't need to happen.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/byron-katie/nothing-comes-ahead-of-its-time-and-nothing-has-ever-happened-that/) [Byron Katie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/byron-katie/) > [Everything that has happened to me has happened when I didn't plan it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-graham/everything-that-has-happened-to-me-has-happened-when-i-didn-t-plan-it/) [Larry Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-graham/) > [I woke up and all I could see was Iraqis standing all around me, looking down upon me. I knew at that moment something…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessica-lynch/i-woke-up-and-all-i-could-see-was-iraqis-standing-all-around-me/) [Jessica Lynch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessica-lynch/) > [Because that’s how it works after something terrible has happened. You know this is true if something terrible has ever happened to you. A…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deb-caletti/because-that-s-how-it-works-after-something-terrible-has-happened-you/) [Deb Caletti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deb-caletti/) > [Forgiveness is discovering that what you thought happened, didn’t.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/byron-katie/forgiveness-is-discovering-that-what-you-thought-happened-didn-t/) [Byron Katie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/byron-katie/) ## More by Lawrence Block > [If fate sends you a lemon, use it to make lemonade.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-block/if-fate-sends-you-a-lemon-use-it-to-make-lemonade/) [Lawrence Block](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-block/) > [“She made love with the freshness of an impatient virgin and the ingenuity of a sex-scarred whore.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-block/she-made-love-with-the-freshness-of-an-impatient-virgin-and-the/) [Lawrence Block](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-block/) > [“that would have hidden the decades of filth that had left their stamp upon the wooden floor.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-block/that-would-have-hidden-the-decades-of-filth-that-had-left-their-stamp/) [Lawrence Block](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-block/) > [Serendipity. Look for something, find something else, and realize that what you've found is more suited to your needs than what you thought you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-block/serendipity-look-for-something-find-something-else-and-realize-that/) [Lawrence Block](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-block/) > [And, as long as you can make yourself go on choosing the pain over the relief, you can keep going.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-block/and-as-long-as-you-can-make-yourself-go-on-choosing-the-pain-over-the/) [Lawrence Block](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-block/) > [I don't plan an awful lot in life just as I don't plan an awful lot in my fiction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-block/i-don-t-plan-an-awful-lot-in-life-just-as-i-don-t-plan-an-awful-lot/) [Lawrence Block](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-block/) > [“Your unconscious mind takes the things you can’t handle and plays with them while you sleep until some of the sharp corners are worn…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-block/your-unconscious-mind-takes-the-things-you-can-t-handle-and-plays/) [Lawrence Block](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-block/) > [Dangerous thing, giving humanity the knowledge of good and evil. And the capacity to make the wrong choice more often than not.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-block/dangerous-thing-giving-humanity-the-knowledge-of-good-and-evil-and/) [Lawrence Block](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-block/) > [Back then, before it became clear that democracy was best served by a drunken electorate, the bars in New York City were required to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-block/back-then-before-it-became-clear-that-democracy-was-best-served-by-a/) [Lawrence Block](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-block/) > [I’ve tried writing and the sentences come out fine, but I write a few pages and I don’t want to go on.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-block/i-ve-tried-writing-and-the-sentences-come-out-fine-but-i-write-a-few/) [Lawrence Block](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-block/) > [As a friend of mine, herself a writer, says, 'People who spend the most meaningful hours of their lives in the exclusive company of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-block/as-a-friend-of-mine-herself-a-writer-says-people-who-spend-the-most/) [Lawrence Block](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-block/) > [“My crime seemed destined to remain a secret forever.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-block/my-crime-seemed-destined-to-remain-a-secret-forever/) [Lawrence Block](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-block/) > [“you have a better chance to get pregnant if you keep your knees way up and stay that way as long as you can.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-block/you-have-a-better-chance-to-get-pregnant-if-you-keep-your-knees-way/) [Lawrence Block](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-block/) > [I can’t persuade myself that one of the problems facing the planet today might be a shortage of books by me,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-block/i-can-t-persuade-myself-that-one-of-the-problems-facing-the-planet/) [Lawrence Block](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-block/) > [Man, I so sick of dinosaurs. They wasn't extinct, I'd go out an' kill 'em myself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-block/man-i-so-sick-of-dinosaurs-they-wasn-t-extinct-i-d-go-out-an-kill-em/) [Lawrence Block](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-block/) [Explore all 96 Lawrence Block quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-block/) ## More Happened quotes > [“It was about damn time something happened.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lev-grossman/it-was-about-damn-time-something-happened/) [Lev Grossman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lev-grossman/) > [Well, The Day the Earth Caught Fire was a story... I don't if anybody knows what it is but it was about... in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/val-guest/well-the-day-the-earth-caught-fire-was-a-story-i-don-t-if-anybody/) [Val Guest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/val-guest/) > [My feeling has always been that 'Good Eats' would have never happened had it been left to a committee.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alton-brown/my-feeling-has-always-been-that-good-eats-would-have-never-happened/) [Alton Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alton-brown/) > [Thinking about the things that happened, I don't know any other ball player would could have done what he (Jackie Robinson) did. To be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pee-wee-reese/thinking-about-the-things-that-happened-i-don-t-know-any-other-ball/) [Pee Wee Reese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pee-wee-reese/) > [I hadn't worked for a year when I had my Prison Break audition and it was the easiest audition I've ever had. I got…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wentworth-miller/i-hadn-t-worked-for-a-year-when-i-had-my-prison-break-audition-and-it/) [Wentworth Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wentworth-miller/) > [Freedom in every sense but primarily political sense, a rise in repression that stems from a repression of sexuality. It's AIDS, it's herpes, it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-nicholson/freedom-in-every-sense-but-primarily-political-sense-a-rise-in/) [Jack Nicholson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-nicholson/) > [I never planned to do female roles. It just happened. I was typecast.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/divine/i-never-planned-to-do-female-roles-it-just-happened-i-was-typecast/) [Divine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/divine/) > [The truth is I've just never had any kind of plan at all for my career, which is probably not a very flattering thing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ty-burrell/the-truth-is-i-ve-just-never-had-any-kind-of-plan-at-all-for-my/) [Ty Burrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ty-burrell/) > [The Parthenon is really only a farmyard over which someone put a roof; colonades and sculptures were added because there were people in Athens…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/the-parthenon-is-really-only-a-farmyard-over-which-someone-put-a-roof/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) > [How come I end up where I started How come I end up where I belong... You used to be alright What happened?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thom-yorke/how-come-i-end-up-where-i-started-how-come-i-end-up-where-i-belong/) [Thom Yorke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thom-yorke/) > [You have to talk about why things happened the way they did. You can't actually explain my political life except by a series of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-lange/you-have-to-talk-about-why-things-happened-the-way-they-did-you-can-t/) [David Lange](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-lange/) > [Becoming famous is a really shocking thing, especially when you don't have aspirations to it. It got to the point where I would try…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alison-moyet/becoming-famous-is-a-really-shocking-thing-especially-when-you-don-t/) [Alison Moyet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alison-moyet/) > [When somebody mentions that I did a play with George C. Scott, I'm like, it can't have happened. What was I doing on a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-dano/when-somebody-mentions-that-i-did-a-play-with-george-c-scott-i-m-like/) [Paul Dano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-dano/) > [When I was a sophomore at USC, I was a socialist, pretty much to the left. But not when I left the university. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-wayne/when-i-was-a-sophomore-at-usc-i-was-a-socialist-pretty-much-to-the/) [John Wayne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-wayne/) > [When you begin your work, nothing exists. When it is finished it looks as if it just happened, spontaneously, effortlessly, convincingly. It looks as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eva-zeisel/when-you-begin-your-work-nothing-exists-when-it-is-finished-it-looks/) [Eva Zeisel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eva-zeisel/) [Browse all 5,722 Happened quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happened/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“What time is it?\" \"Time?\" \"Time.\" \"Oh,\" She said. \"A quarter to four. Mr. Markham, something terrible has happened.\" She didn't have to tell me that. Something perfectly dreadful had happened, by God. Someone had called me in the middle of the bloody night.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Lawrence Block" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-block/what-time-is-it-time-time-oh-she-said-a-quarter-to-four-mr-markham/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Happened" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-block/what-time-is-it-time-time-oh-she-said-a-quarter-to-four-mr-markham/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/234/lawrence-block-6776_time_what-time-is-it-time-time-oh-she-said-a_1991471.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/234/lawrence-block-6776_time_what-time-is-it-time-time-oh-she-said-a_1991471.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/234/lawrence-block-6776_time_what-time-is-it-time-time-oh-she-said-a_1991471.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“What time is it?\" \"Time?\" \"Time.\" \"Oh,\" She said. \"A quarter to four. Mr. Markham, something terrible has…” — Lawrence Block", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Lawrence Block", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-block/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“What time is it?\" \"Time?\" \"Time.\"...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-block/what-time-is-it-time-time-oh-she-said-a-quarter-to-four-mr-markham/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-block/what-time-is-it-time-time-oh-she-said-a-quarter-to-four-mr-markham/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```