1
general::
Phrase(s): *ahead of time
beforehand; before the announced time. (*Typically: arrive ~; get there ~; leave ~; show up ~.) • If you show up ahead of time, you will have to wait. • Be there ahead of time if you want to get a good seat., Phrase(s): *ahead of one’s time
Fig. having ideas or attitudes that are too advanced to be acceptable in the present. (*Typically: be ~; think ~.) • Sue’s grandmother was ahead of her time in wanting to study medicine.
McGrawhill's American Idioms And Phrasal Verbs
2
general::
Earlier, sooner, as in The meeting was scheduled for three o'clock, but most people arrived ahead of time. [Early 1900s]
American Heritage Idioms