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#2 (permalink) Sat Aug 23, 2008 22:16 pm do it in a jiffy? |
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| It's very common in the United States, but I seldom use it. |
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Jamie (K) I'm a Communicator ;-)
Joined: 24 Feb 2006 Posts: 6559 Location: Detroit, Michigan, USA
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#3 (permalink) Sun Aug 24, 2008 0:12 am do it in a jiffy? |
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. And very casual. I probably use it without thinking-- my mother used it. . _________________ Native English teacher at Mister Micawber's |
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Mister Micawber Language Coach
Joined: 17 Jul 2005 Posts: 13015
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Yankee I'm a Communicator ;-)

Joined: 16 Apr 2006 Posts: 8316 Location: USA
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#5 (permalink) Mon Aug 25, 2008 13:01 pm do it in a jiffy? |
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I first saw the phrase 'in a jiffy' in the series of 'Donald and friends' by Walt Disney :D By the way, what do you mean by those two pictures, Amy? I found only one definition for 'jiffy' in my dictionaries - a short time/a moment. And by the way (again:D) are both 'in a jiffy' and 'in a nick of time' used in both BrE and AmE?
Thank you very much, Nessie. _________________ :(... something we never have again, I know... I guess I really really know.. :(
Sorry seems to be the hardest word... |
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Nessie I'm a Communicator ;-)
Joined: 16 Feb 2008 Posts: 1102
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#6 (permalink) Mon Aug 25, 2008 13:14 pm do it in a jiffy? |
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Jiffy Lube is a chain of shops that change the oil in cars very quickly. ("Lube" is short for lubricate.)
Jiffy Pop is popcorn that comes from a store already in a pan with oil and everything needed to pop it. You just have to heat it on the stove and cut open the foil "bubble" that rises during cooking, and you can eat it without a bowl. It is ready in a jiffy, because you didn't have to do all the usual preparations. It has been sold since the days before microwave ovens, and many people think it is off the market. It's still available, though. It tastes better than microwave popcorn. (I still make popcorn the old way, in a pot with oil.)
Nowadays, there is a type of Jamaican knit cap that some Americans call a jiffy pop hat.
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Jamie (K) I'm a Communicator ;-)
Joined: 24 Feb 2006 Posts: 6559 Location: Detroit, Michigan, USA
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| Did you know the origin of the word wiki? | 'If the office is open until five' vs 'If the office will be open until five' |