15 Idioms for Periods of Time

15 Idioms for Periods of Time 15 Idioms for Periods of Time 15 Idioms for Periods of Time By Mark Nichol A body of idiomatic words and expressions vividly denote brief periods of time or otherwise refer to various durations. Here’s a sampling of such terms. 1. After hours: In the evening or at night, or late in the day (referring to standard daytime hours that most businesses are open) 2. Banker’s hours: A relatively short duration (from the onetime tradition that banks were open for a limited number of hours compared to other businesses; therefore, one who keeps banker’s hours has a light work schedule) 3. Bat/wink/twinkling of an eye: variations of an idiom referring to a period of time so brief that it passes while one’s eyelid moves 4. Eleventh hour: occurring late in a given time frame (from the fact that the eleventh hour is the last in the day before midnight) 5. Flash: an instant (from the fact that a flash of flame is short lived) 6. Heartbeat: an instant (from the duration between one heartbeat and the next); usually seen in the expression â€Å"in a heartbeat†; by contrast, a phrase beginning â€Å"a heartbeat away from† refers to someone being in line for promotion if the heart of that person’s immediate superior stops beating that is, if the other person dies 7. Jiffy: an instant (perhaps from slang for lightning); also shortened to jiff 8. New York minute: a brief time (from the notion that minutes in the hectic milieu of New York City pass more quickly than those in more relaxed locales) 9. On the hour: at the beginning of every hour 19. Shake: a very short period; usually employed in the phrase â€Å"two shakes† (a truncation of the idiom â€Å"two shakes of a lamb’s tail,† alluding to the typically rapid motion of the young animal’s tail) 11. Small hours: the early morning (from the low numbers on the clock that indicate the time during that period) 12. Split second: a fraction of a second (from the notion that a second can be split, or subdivided); a split is also a fraction of the total elapsed time for a race 13. Tick: a moment (from the ticking of a clock); a tick is literally a mark used for measure, as on a clock 14. Trice: a short period of time (from a word meaning â€Å"pull†); often seen in the phrase â€Å"in a trice† 15. Witching hour: midnight or the middle of the night (with the connotation that unsettling or unusual things happen then, from the superstition that witches are about at that time) Note: The DWT Freelance Writing Course will be re-opening next Tuesday, November 6. Make sure to mark it on your calendar if you are planning to join us. The course costs $97 (single payment), and it runs for six weeks. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Vocabulary category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:When to Use â€Å"That,† â€Å"Which,† and â€Å"Who†Comma Before ButEnglish Grammar 101: Sentences, Clauses and Phrases