What does hora inglesa mean in Spanish?

When the clock is literal

None of this applies at work, where the nine o'clock meeting starts at nine. Nor to the doctor, the plane, or anything with the word cita — appointment — in it.

When somebody wants to say a time is literal, they say so: a las ocho, hora inglesa, 'at eight, English time'. That the expression exists proves the other kind of time exists too, and that everybody knows it. In Chile, a la chilena means the opposite; in Mexico you are warned with ahorita voy, where ahorita can mean in five minutes or in an hour, and both speakers know it.

The only serious mistake, the piece says, is the foreigner who arrives on time and takes offence — in that order. Arriving early is forgiven; being annoyed about it is not.

• The margin does not apply at work, where the nine o'clock meeting starts at nine, nor to the doctor, the plane or anything called a cita.
• To say a time is literal, people say hora inglesa, 'English time'.
• In Chile a la chilena means the opposite, and in Mexico ahorita voy can mean in five minutes or in an hour.

Nada de esto se aplica al trabajo, donde la reunión de las nueve empieza a las nueve.

None of this applies at work, where the nine o'clock meeting starts at nine.

Cuando alguien quiere decir que la hora es literal, lo dice: a las ocho, hora inglesa.

When somebody wants to say that the time is literal, they say so: at eight, English time.

En Chile se dice a la chilena para lo contrario, y en México se avisa con un ahorita voy.

In Chile they say Chilean-style for the opposite, and in Mexico you are warned with an ahorita voy.

El único error grave es el del extranjero que llega puntual y se ofende, en ese orden.

The only serious mistake is that of the foreigner who arrives on time and takes offence, in that order.