flog the clock

present singular third person flogs the clock · participle present flogging the clock · participle past flogged the clock · past flogged the clock

1. slanggovernmentTo set the clock forward in order to shorten one's time on watch.

   I recall that I was in the second mate's watch when he accused me of flogging the clock. He did not see me put it forward but obviously he knew the ways of boys.

   1956, New South Wales. Parliament, Parliamentary Debates, page 1449

   1 more example

   On one trip three lads on night watch all had the same idea, and when the skipper went up to the wheelhouse the following morning he was spitting mad, wanting to know who'd flogged the clock a half-hour forward.

   2011, Jimmy Buchan, Trawlerman: Life at the Helm of the Toughest Job in Britain