Payment systems

The seventh entry is l’heure limite, and the English phrase that looks like its twin measures something else entirely. A « time limit » is a length of time somebody is allowed: thirty minutes for an exam, ninety seconds for an answer, three months to lodge an appeal. It starts running when you start. L’heure limite is not a length at all but a fixed point on the clock, the same for everybody whenever they began: l’heure limite est fixée à 15 h 30 means that an order arriving at 15 h 31 waits for the next business day. Banks call that point the « cut-off », and the rest of the family works the same way. La date limite on its own is the « deadline », and la date limite de dépôt is the « closing date » for applications or tenders. So respecter l’heure limite asks for punctuality rather than speed, and « keep within the time limit » answers a question nobody asked. Wherever French puts limite after heure or date, translate the moment, not the allowance, and the sentence around it will fall into place.