English Idiom – Time flies.
Time passes very quickly.
Ever looked up and realised the whole afternoon has disappeared? English has a simple idiom for exactly that feeling.
What Does “Time Flies” Mean?
Time flies means that time passes very quickly. It’s used when you notice, often with surprise, that a certain period has gone by much faster than you expected.
You’ll very often hear the extended version: “Time flies when you’re having fun!” — said when an enjoyable experience seems to be over almost as soon as it started.
Where Does This Idiom Come From?
“Time flies” has a genuinely ancient pedigree. It traces back to the Latin phrase tempus fugit — literally “time flees” or “time flies” — which appears in the Roman poet Virgil’s Georgics, written around 29 BC. The phrase has been part of everyday English for centuries, and tempus fugit itself still turns up on clocks, sundials, and watches today. Read more about its history on Wikipedia’s entry for tempus fugit.
When to Use This Idiom
- An enjoyable event has ended, and you were expecting it to continue for longer.
- Your holiday is over far sooner than it felt like it should be.
- An event that still feels recent actually happened a long time ago.
- You’ve been having so much fun that you lost track of time completely.
Example Conversation
- Jacky: “When did we visit Paris together? Was it 3 years ago?”
- Barbara: “It was 8 years ago! How time flies!”
Is there an idiom like this one in your language? Tell us on X — @EnglishStudy.
More Idioms
What is an idiom?
An idiom is a word or phrase that is not taken literally. An idiom is an expression that cannot be understood from the meanings of its individual words, but has a separate meaning of its own.
Frequently Asked Questions
It means that time is passing, or has passed, much more quickly than expected — usually said when you suddenly realise how much time has gone by.
It traces back to the Latin phrase tempus fugit (“time flees”), first used by the Roman poet Virgil around 29 BC. The English version has been in common use for centuries.
Yes — “Time flies when you’re having fun” is the most common extended form, used specifically when an enjoyable experience feels like it passed too quickly.
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