meter is running, the

Idioms  

1. Costs or other consequences are accumulating, as in We'd better come to a decision soon, for the meter is running. This metaphoric expression alludes to the fare mounting up on a taxi meter. [Late 1900s]

---

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

meter is running, the

Lambrecht christened the discomfort that customers feel when the meter is running the “taxi-meter effect.”

From Slate ● Dec. 18, 2013