time flies

Idioms  

1. Time passes quickly, as in It's midnight already? Time flies when you're having fun, or I guess it's ten years since I last saw you—how time flies. This idiom was first recorded about 1800 but Shakespeare used a similar phrase, “the swiftest hours, as they flew,” as did Alexander Pope, “swift fly the years.”

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

time flies

"It's difficult to find time to gather and see everyone. This is what we miss. We feel like the time flies very, very fast because we're busy," she says.

From BBC ● Oct. 18, 2025

It’s incredibly taxing mentally, but once you get into a flow and lose yourself, time flies.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 7, 2024

Conventional wisdom tells us that life is short, time flies and there are never enough hours in the day.

From New York Times ● Dec. 7, 2022

This walk to Capitol Hill might seem long, but because of the interesting setting and change in neighborhoods, time flies and you’ll be there in no time.

From Seattle Times ● Jan. 27, 2022

“Don’t they say that time flies when you are happy?”

From "Purple Hibiscus" by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie