ano ang kahulugan ng idyoma o talinghagang bukambibig na mabilis pa sa alas-kuwatro

ito ang sabi sa FB post ng NCCA ngayong Agosto 30, 2019:

National Artist Nick Joaquin once explained that the phrase “mabilis pa sa alas cuatro” (faster than four o’clock) was connected with the siren or whistle of the old Insular Ice Plant that used to be close to the Pasig River, in an area where the present Metropolitan Theater, Quezon Bridge and Manila Post Office now stand.

The ice plant’s siren sounded thrice daily: at 7 a.m. to signal the start of work; at 12 noon to signal the lunch break; and at 4 p.m. to signal the end of work. Manila was less noisy then, so people who heard the ice plant’s siren worked their days around these signals, too. “Mabilis pa sa alas cuatro” referred to the 4 p.m. siren.

Source: Looking Back by Ambeth R. Ocampo (https://opinion.inquirer.net/86932/the-iceman-cometh)

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📷 Ang tampok sa larawan ay Insular Ice Plant & Cold Storage, circa 1910 (Courtesy of John Tewell)