jiffyn.
/ˈdʒɪfi/, U.S. /ˈdʒɪfi/ colloquial.
A very short space of time: only in such phrases as in a jiffy, in a trice.
ΘΚΠ
the world > time > duration > shortness or brevity in time > [noun] > moment or instant
hand-whileOE
prinkOE
start-while?c1225
twinkling1303
rese?c1335
prick1340
momenta1382
pointa1382
minutea1393
instant1398
braida1400
siquarea1400
twink14..
whip?c1450
movement1490
punct1513
pissing whilea1556
trice1579
turning of a hand1579
wink1585
twinklec1592
semiquaver1602
punto1616
punctilio of time1620
punctum1620
breathing1625
instance1631
tantillation1651
rapc1700
crack1725
turning of a straw1755
pig's whisper1780
jiffy1785
less than no time1788
jiff1797
blinka1813
gliffy1820
handclap1822
glimpsea1824
eyewink1836
thought1836
eye-blink1838
semibreve1845
pop1847
two shakes of a lamb's taila1855
pig's whistle1859
time point1867
New York minute1870
tick1879
mo?1896
second1897
styme1897
split-second1912
split minute1931
no-time1942
sec.1956
1785 Munchhausen's Trav. (1792) xxiii. 96 In six jiffies I found myself and all my retinue..at the rock of Gibralter.
1796 Grose's Classical Dict. Vulgar Tongue (ed. 3) (at cited word) It will be done in a jeffy: it will be done in a short space of time, in an instant.
1834 F. Marryat Peter Simple I. xiii. 192 We were ordered to South America; and the trade winds took us there in a jiffey.
1841 T. Hood Tale of Trumpet iii, in New Monthly Mag. Sept. 158 In half a jiffy, or less than that.
1880 C. H. Spurgeon John Ploughman's Pictures 100 They have wonderful plans for doing everything in a jiffy.
Compounds
Jiffy bag n. (also Jiffy book bag) (a proprietary name for) a type of large envelope padded to protect the contents; also figurative; also elliptical as Jiffy.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > correspondence > letter > [noun] > cover or envelope > types of
postage envelope1840
mourning envelope1856
return envelope1856
stamped (and) addressed envelope1873
entire1897
window envelope1910
Mulready1912
flown cover1930
S.A.E.1939
Jiffy bag1956
1956 Library Jrnl. 1 June 1384/1 Book handling equipment... Mailing bags: Jiffy, Triangle.
1956 Library Jrnl. 1 June 1388/1 Jiffy book bag.
1968 New Scientist 10 Oct. 77/1 Dr. Pratt has recently been using ‘Jiffy bags’ for his outer-jackets—those patent padded envelopes used for mailing books.
1969 Trade Marks Jrnl. 2 July 1084/2 Jiffy... Padded paper bags, cushioned paper pads and padded paper in sheet or roll form, all being wrapping and packaging materials for industrial use, for protecting goods in transit. Jiffy Packaging Company Limited,..Winsford, Cheshire; manufacturers.
1973 ‘D. Halliday’ Dolly & Starry Bird xvi. 249 Maurice..had backed discreetly into a Jiffy bag of deliberate ignorance.
Jiffy pot n. a type of small pot in which seeds may be sown (see quot. 1972).A proprietary name in the United States.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > farming > gardening > equipment and buildings > [noun] > seed-pot or -pan
seed pot1727
seed pan1731
seed box1754
sprouter1915
peat pot1948
Jiffy pot1957
1957 Trade Marks Jrnl. 4 Dec. 1278/1 Jiffapot [sic]... Hormonal peat in the form of propagating pots for plants.
1959 Greenhouse IV. iv. 243 (advt.) These tomato plants grew up side by side,..‘B’ in a standard clay pot, ‘A’ in a Jiffy Pot... Exhibit ‘A’ forged ahead... Ideal for root cuttings too—hyacinths start evenly in Jiffy Pots.
1965 G. J. Williams Econ. Geol. N.Z. xvi. 256/2 It is of interest to note that 25 million ‘jiffy pots’ are used annually for horticultural purposes in New Zealand.
1968 Trade Marks Jrnl. 27 Mar. 484/2 Jiffypots... Flower, planting and transplanting pots made of peat. Odd Smaaberg Melvold and Leif Fraas Koxvold, trading as Me-Kox Industri Melvold & Koxvold, Østre Akers Vei 210 Grorud, near Oslo, Norway; manufacturers and merchants.
1972 Guardian 16 Dec. 12/7 Jiffy pots are..made of peat and wood pulp, through which plant roots can grow.
jiffy-quick adv. in a jiffy.
ΘΚΠ
the world > time > duration > shortness or brevity in time > [adverb] > instantaneously or with a short space of time
swiftlya1400
at one fling1556
at one (a) chop1581
per saltum1602
at one (fell, etc.) swoop1612
popa1625
instantaneously1644
in the catching up of a garter1697
in the drawing of a trigger1706
in a handclap1744
at a slap1753
momentaneously1753
in a whiff1800
in a brace or couple of shakes1816
bolt1839
at a single jeta1856
overnight1912
jiffy-quick1927
in two ups1934
1927 Ladies' Home Jrnl. Dec. 34/3 A waxed surface that..you can dust up jiffy-quick promises spick-and-span floors with but little trouble.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1901; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.1785