[General] The cuckoo clock strikes on the hour.

[Venus.jam]

Hi,

Is it correct to say that "the cuckoo clock strikes on the hour"?

I looked it up in a dictionary, but it was as "The clock strikes the hour and not "on" the hour". So can we use "on"?
Thanks in advance.

 

[ChinaDan]

Is it correct to say that "the cuckoo clock strikes on the hour"?

Not really. It isn't the natural way we say it, even though it seems odd to say that anything can actually "strike the hour".

 

[Venus.jam]

Not really. It isn't the natural way we say it, even though it seems odd to say that anything can actually "strike the hour".

So you mean the correct way is to say "the cuckoo clock strikes the hour"?
excuse me, what do you mean by "anything can actually "strike the hour"?

 

[ChinaDan]

So you mean the correct way is to say "the cuckoo clock strikes the hour"?
excuse me, what do you mean by "anything can actually "strike the hour"?

"The cuckoo clock strikes the hour" is the correct way to say this. But it does sound ridiculous, doesn't it? How can you strike an hour, since an hour has no substance? If I "give you an hour", do you have something in your hands now? No, I've simply stated I'm willing to wait for another 60 minutes for you.

I'm just saying that I understand your initial confusion about this phrase, "strike the hour". It is rather odd, but it is correct.

 

[SoothingDave]

I have no problem with "the clock strikes on the hour and on the half hour."

 

[Rover_KE]

Yes — let's leave out 'cuckoo', a special type of clock which goes cuckoo on the hour.

Consider 'The clock chimes on the hour'.

 

[GoesStation]

On the hour is idiomatic in AmE, at least, for an event that occurs at 12:00, 1:00, 2:00, etc. Every hour on the hour​ means that this happens twenty-four hours a day.

I find the clock strikes the hour​ possible but a little odd.

 

[jutfrank]

In old-fashioned language, the clock strikes the hour, be that (the hour of) one/two/three...

The clock struck one
The mouse ran down
Hickory-dickory-dock

In more modern parlance, an event may be said to occur on the hour.

 

[emsr2d2]

I would use "on the hour" if I were talking about the habitual action "This clock strikes on the hour [and the half-hour]".
I would use "the hour" if I were talking about one instance - "The church clock had just struck the hour when the ghostly form of my deceased grandfather appeared".

 

[Venus.jam]

I would use "on the hour" if I were talking about the habitual action "This clock strikes on the hour [and the half-hour]".
I would use "the hour" if I were talking about one instance - "The church clock had just struck the hour when the ghostly form of my deceased grandfather appeared".

Hi,

Thank you for all the answers that I recieved. But, putting these answers together confused me. In fact, I considered "the clock strikes on the hour" as a wrong sentence, based on the first reply that I recieved. I also checked it in a dictionary and I noticed that "the clock strikes the hour" is correct. But then I was told that both "the clock strikes the hour" and "the clock strikes on the hour" are correct. So, are both correct?

 

[SoothingDave]

Read this:

I would use "on the hour" if I were talking about the habitual action
I would use "the hour" if I were talking about one instance

 

[Venus.jam]

Not really. It isn't the natural way we say it, even though it seems odd to say that anything can actually "strike the hour".

Hi,

Excuse me, I think it is necessary to clarify my previous question a little more. My main question was that is it correct to say "the clock strikes "on" the hour?" But, after I read your post I considered it incorrect. As you said and as I myself had found it in a dictionary, I realized that the ONLY correct way is to say "the clock strikes the hour, without "on". However, later replies to my question let me know that both are correct and can be used depending on different contexts.

 

[Venus.jam]

Not really. It isn't the natural way we say it, even though it seems odd to say that anything can actually "strike the hour".

You know my problem is that can we say that since language is a dynamic phenomenon, "strikes the hour" was first considered as the ONLY correct version of this statement. But, later on ""strikes ON the hour" was also come to be used as the correct version?

Thanks in advance.

 

[emsr2d2]

I don't have time to try to research the history of the two phrases but my guess is that they've both always been acceptable.

You could try putting "strike the hour" and "strike on the hour" into Google's Ngram viewer.

 

[emsr2d2]

Ngram. ''On the hour" seems to be uncommon.

Interesting, although I suppose it's not surprising that the specific usage "My clock strikes on the hour, the half-hour and the quarter-hour" (for example), would be less common than the fairly standard "The clock strikes/struck the hour".