Timed explosion with 時限爆弾

Kanji Explanation: Boundaries and limits with 限

Conan overhears Gin and Vodka discuss a bomb they’ve planted. There’s little time left for Conan to find the bomb and get it off the bullet train before it explodes. As he tries to determine who is unknowingly carrying the bomb, he thinks back to what the two had said.

ジン:: 「爆発(ばくはつ)時刻(じこく)は３時(じ)１０分(ぷん)だ．．．」; “The explosion time is 3:10.”
ウォッカ:: 「時限爆弾(じげんばくだん)ですかい？」; “Is it a time bomb?”

Key Points

時限(じげん) = a fixed time limit or timer setting
- In compounds, 時限(じげん) refers to a time that has been preset or fixed in advance
- The 限 part contributes the idea of a limit / set boundary, so this is not just “time” in general, but a time with a built-in cutoff
時限爆弾(じげんばくだん) = “time bomb” in this scene
- 時限爆弾(じげんばくだん) literally combines 時限(じげん) + 爆弾(ばくだん), so it means a bomb set to explode at a predetermined time
- In English, “time bomb” is the most natural translation here
The first line sets up the second
- 爆発(ばくはつ)時刻(じこく)は３時(じ)１０分(ぷん)だ gives the exact detonation time, so the follow-up question naturally becomes “Is it a time bomb?”
- 時刻(じこく) means a specific clock time or appointed time, which matches the idea of a bomb triggered on a schedule
ですかい = a rougher, characterful version of ですか
- ですかい is a casual, old-fashioned-sounding question ending; here it adds a gruff underling or gangster-like tone
- The omitted subject is understood from context: (それは) 時限爆弾(じげんばくだん)ですかい？