The magician made the coin vanish in the twinkling of an eye.
in the twinkling of an eye
idiomIn an instant; extremely quickly.
Origin
The phrase comes from Paul in 1 Corinthians 15:52, describing the resurrection at the last trumpet: in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, the dead will be raised and the living changed.
A twinkling is the tiny interval of a blink or a flicker of light in the eye — Paul reaches for the briefest measurable instant he can name to convey how sudden and total the transformation will be.
Long detached from that context, in the twinkling of an eye survives in English simply as a vivid way of saying instantly — something done, gone, or transformed in less time than it takes to blink.
One bad headline and, in the twinkling of an eye, years of careful reputation-building were undone.
The market had seemed calm all morning, and then, in the twinkling of an eye, a single rumour sent the whole thing into free fall, wiping out in seconds what it had taken the traders months to build.
Acts and the letters of Paul to the first churches.
- 01
reap what you sow (idiom)
Your actions produce their own inevitable consequences, good or bad.
- 02
the root of all evil (idiom)
The underlying source of much wrongdoing — most often applied to money.
- 03
fight the good fight (idiom)
To persevere with determination in a worthy and difficult struggle.
- 04
a thorn in the side (idiom)
A persistent source of irritation, trouble, or difficulty.
- 05
road to Damascus (idiom)
An important point in someone's life where a great change, or reversal, of ideas or beliefs occurs.
- 06
the wages of sin (idiom)
The inevitable painful consequences of wrongdoing.