golden times

Noun

golden time (countable and uncountable, plural golden times)

1. The first sixty minutes after a traumatic injury.
   • […] the golden time has already passed before the physician starts prompt treatment.2015, Yatin Mehta, Jeetendra Sharma, Mukesh Gupta, Textbook of Critical Care, page 920
2. The time of day near sunrise or sunset.
   • It was the golden time of the afternoon then, and the captain said to himself, "Golden sun, golden sea, golden sails, golden leaves, golden love, golden youth, a golden state of things altogether! "1860, Charles Dickens, A Message From the Sea, page 96
3. The Japanese analog to American prime time.
   • The overall (6:00 a.m. to midnight) audience rating per time slot didn't change, but the golden time ( 7:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m. ) audience ratings decreased while the midnight to 2:00 a.m. rate increased.2001, Japan 2001 Marketing & Advertising Yearbook, page 169
4. Overtime hours in the television or film industry, when additional money is paid.
   • But a Saturday job for a crew already on golden time calls for double golden time, which is five times the regular wage.1967, John L. Chapman, Incredible Los Angeles, page 151
5. A period of ease, happiness, virtue, or flourishing.
   • Would he were wasted, marrow, bones, and all, That from his loins no hopeful branch may spring, To cross me from the golden time I look for.1591, William Shakespeare, Henry VI, part 3

   Synonyms:

   golden age, golden era, golden years

6. The optimal time for accomplishing a specific task.
   • The general practitioner, either through ignorance or indifference, neglects his cases of insanity, and too often allows the "golden time" for treatment, i.e., during the incipiency, to pass before recognizing the insanity or considering it of any consequence.1892, The Medical Fortnightly - Volume 2, page 287

See all 7 meanings of golden time