in the twinkling of an eye en · ADP
Pronunciation
- (Australia) audio
Etymology
From Middle English in the twynklyng of an iȝe, in þe twynklynk of an eiȝe, from the Bible, 1 Corinthians 15:52: We shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet.
Meanings
-
(idiomatic) Immediately; instantaneously.
Father, come, ile take my leaue of the Iew in the twinkling of an eye.
c. 1596–1598 (date written), W[illiam] Shakespeare, The Excellent History of the Merchant of Venice. […] (First Quarto), [London]: […] J[ames] Roberts [for Thomas Heyes], published 1600, →OCLC, [Act II, scene ii]:All my dreams for him have been cut short in the twinkling of an eye. Why was my son murdered?
2007 April 28, Hugh Muir, The Guardian: