If it is 4 PM in Central Standard Time what time is it in Central Time?

Answer 1

Central Time and Central Standard Time are the same thing. "Standard Time" just means "not Daylight Time." In the winter months, we go by Standard Time, and in the summer months, we go by Daylight Time.

Most people just say "Central Time" (or Pacific Time, Mountain Time, Eastern Time) instead of "Central Standard Time" or "Central Daylight Time" because it's shorter.

If it's the middle of the summer, for example, and someone says, "Hey, what time is it now in Chicago?" most people would just say, "It's noon Central Time" instead of "It's noon Central Daylight Time." Since most people in the U.S. are perfectly aware of whether or not the country is on Standard Time or Daylight Time at the moment, it doesn't need to be stated every single time.

Or, if someone asked you a general question like, "What is 10 AM Pacific Time in Central Time?" The answer is always going to be the same: 10 AM Pacific Daylight Time is 12 PM Central Daylight Time, and 10 AM Pacific Standard Time is still 12 PM Central Standard Time. So for a question like this, whether or not it's Daylight or Standard Time is irrelevant.