Where does the expression the nick of time come from?
The first term began life as in the nick and dates from the 1500s, when nick meant “the critical moment” (a meaning now obsolete). The second employs just in the sense of “precisely” or “closely,” a usage applied to time since the 1500s. Also see in time, def.
Is the nick of time an idiom?
COMMON If something happens in the nick of time, it happens at the last possible moment, when it is almost too late. She woke up just in the nick of time and raised the alarm. They got to the hospital in the nick of time, just as the baby was about to be born.
Is it Knick or nick of time?
The phrase “nick of time” is in reference to a measurement of time, as in a measurement between nicks on a stick. “Knick” isn’t actually a word. “Knicks” is an abbreviation of “Knickerbockers,” meaning a resident of New York or the pro basketball team. “Knick-knack” is a small ornamental object.
What is another word for nick of time?
What is another word for nick of time?
| last minute | final moment |
|---|---|
| last ditch | last gasp |
| eleventh hour | high time |
| under the wire | just in time |
| the last moment | zero hour |
Why do the British call a police station a nick?
6 Answers. Nick refers both to a prison cell and to the process of a police officer arresting someone. I suspect that the slang nick meaning to steal led to this meaning as arresting is taking someone away which, in turn, led to the slang for a prison cell.
What Knick means?
(nɪks) plural noun. informal, old-fashioned. knickers.
What does the term under the wire mean?
US. If someone does something under the wire, they do it at the last possible moment: They got in under the wire just before the entry requirements for the training program changed.
What does in the nick of time mean?
Definition of in the nick of time. informal. : just before the last moment when something can be changed or something bad will happen He decided to go just in the nick of time. The ambulance arrived in the nick of time.
What is the origin of the phrase in the nick of time?
In the nick of time has it roots in the 1580s, when in the nick meant at the critical moment. The image is of a nick or notch in a stick, which made a precise measurement. By the 1600s, the prepositional phrase of time was added to the idiom, and in the nick of time has been a popular expression ever since.
Who is Nick of time?
Nick of Time is a 1995 American neo noir political thriller film, directed by John Badham , and starring Johnny Depp, Christopher Walken, Charles S. Dutton and Courtney Chase. It is noteworthy for taking place in real time .