You-all, look at def. 5, from x-refer:
About The Oxford English Reference Dictionary
from Oxford University Press
clock 1 n. & v.
n.
1 an instrument for measuring time, driven mechanically or electrically and indicating hours, minutes, etc., by hands on a dial or by displayed figures. (See below.)
2
a any measuring device resembling a clock.
b colloq. a speedometer, taximeter, or stopwatch.
3 time taken as an element in competitive sports etc. (ran against the clock).
4 Brit. sl. a person's face.
5 a downy seed-head, esp. that of a dandelion.
Am I the only one who has never heard of a dandelion being called a clock?
Here's the second noun def.--looks like you may be out of luck, Helen.
clock 2 n.
an ornamental pattern on the side of a stocking or sock near the ankle. [16th c.: orig. unkn.]
The Oxford English Reference Dictionary, © Oxford University Press 1996
I was entertaining the theory that it came somehow from cloche, and that possibly people thought the first designs resembled clock faces, but have been unable to find the slightest substantiation for it.
