jiffy

in (just) a second

In only a very brief amount of time; very soon. The doctor will be with you in just a second.

See also: second

in a flash

Immediately; very quickly; at once. Just call us on this number if you have any problems, and we'll be back in a flash. Don't worry, boss, I'll have this report typed up in a flash!

See also: flash

in a jiffy

Immediately or very quickly; at once. Just call us on this number if you have any problems, and we'll be back in a jiffy. Don't worry, boss, I'll have this report typed up in a jiffy!

See also: jiffy

in a trice

At once; nearly immediately or very quickly or suddenly. Our storewide sale will only be available as supplies last, so be sure to hurry—these deals are going to be gone in a trice! When faced with the need to save costs, the management decided the fates of lower-level workers in a trice, without any serious deliberation.

See also: trice

jiffy

A very short amount of time. Used in the phrase "in a jiffy," meaning immediately, very quickly, or at once. Just call us on this number if you have any problems, and we'll be back in a jiffy. Don't worry, boss, I'll have this report typed up in a jiffy!

Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2022 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.

in a flash

Fig. quickly; immediately. I'll be there in a flash. It happened in a flash. Suddenly my wallet was gone.

See also: flash

in a jiffy

Fig. very fast; very soon. Just wait a minute. I'll be there in a jiffy. I'll be finished in a jiffy.

See also: jiffy

McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs. © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

in a flash

Also, in a jiffy or second or trice . Quickly, immediately. For example, I'll be with you in a flash, or He said he'd be done in a jiffy, or I'll be off the phone in a second, or I felt a drop or two, and in a trice there was a downpour. The first idiom alludes to a flash of lightning and dates from about 1800. The word jiffy, meaning "a short time," is of uncertain origin and dates from the late 1700s (as does the idiom using it); a second, literally one-sixtieth of a minute, has been used vaguely to mean "a very short time" since the early 1800s; and trice originally meant "a single pull at something" and has been used figuratively since the 1500s.

See also: flash

jiffy

see under in a flash.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer. Copyright © 2003, 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

in a trice

in a moment; very quickly.

In late Middle English, at a trice meant ‘at one pull or tug’, and it soon developed the figurative meaning of ‘in a moment, immediately’. By the late 17th century the original form of the expression had given way to the more familiar in a trice. Trice itself comes from a Middle Dutch verb meaning ‘hoist’.

See also: trice

Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary © Farlex 2017

in a ˈtrice

very quickly or suddenly: He was gone in a trice.

See also: trice

Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary © Farlex 2017

in a flash

mod. right away; immediately. (see also flash.) Get over here in a flash, or else.

See also: flash

in a jiff(y)

mod. right away; immediately. (see also jiffy.) The clerk’ll be with you in a jiff.

See also: jiffy

jiffy

(ˈdʒɪfi)

n. a very short time. (see also in a jiff(y).) Just a jiffy, I’ll be there.

McGraw-Hill's Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions Copyright © 2006 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.