In the twinkling of an eye
Suggest a CorrectionMeaning
In an extremely short time, emphasizing that a change or action happened almost instantly. Literary but readily understood. In a modern neutral context it simply emphasizes speed. Regional use: Late Middle English biblical translation; now widespread.
Origin
The expression is the English rendering of a rapid eye movement in 1 Corinthians 15:52. The late fourteenth-century Wycliffe Bible already has in the twinkling of an eye, making this one of the clearest medieval English biblical survivals in the batch. The passage describes sudden transformation at the last trumpet; ordinary usage later detached the speed image from that theological setting. Twinkling here originally concerns a swift movement or blink, not a sparkle of light.
Research Sources
Variants
- In a twinkling of an eye
Usage Examples
- The final tickets vanished in the twinkling of an eye.
- In the twinkling of an eye, the calm square filled with umbrellas.
- The child spotted the open gate and was gone in the twinkling of an eye.