BBC Learning English

The English We Speak

12th April 2011
Two ticks

William: Hello and welcome to The English We Speak, I'm William Kremer.

Wang Fei: And I'm Wang Fei. So how are you today?

William: Two ticks

Wang Fei: What?

William: Give me two shakes, Wang Fei, I just need to

Wang Fei: Eh? What's that?

William: I'll be with you in a jiffy

Wang Fei: In a jiffy. What's a jiffy? William, what are you talking about?

William: There, done now. I just needed to send a text.

Wang Fei: But what were all those ticks and jiffys?

William: Ahh, and shakes?

Wang Fei: Yes.

William: Well they're all expressions of time, Wang Fei. So they're ways of saying 'just
a moment', or 'just a minute'.

Wang Fei: I see.

Example
A: Can you come and help me lift this sofa?
B: Yeah, I'll be with you in two ticks.

William: Two ticks. In English, we say clocks make this noise: tick tock, tick tock. So
two ticks is just like saying two seconds.

Example
A: I said, can you come and help me here? It's too heavy for me.
B: Yes, yes. I'll be there in two shakes.

The English We Speak British Broadcasting Corporation 2011

Page 1 of 2
bbclearningenglish.com
Wang Fei: Hmm. Two shakes?

William: Yeah, the full phrase here is 'two shakes of a lamb's tail', but we shorten this
to 'two shakes'.

Wang Fei: Oh I see. Two shakes of a lamb's tail.. English can be a very weird language!

William: Yes, it can be! I guess that this is because lambs' tails shake very fast, so two
shakes is a short time! And finally...

Example
A: Look Neil, this sofa isn't going to lift itself. Get a move on!
B: I know, I know. I said I'll be with you in a jiffy.

Wang Fei: In a jiffy. So in a jiffy also means 'in a short space of time'. But what's a jiffy?

William: Well, you know what, Wang Fei? Nobody is completely sure of the origin of
this word. But it has been in use for over 200 years!

Wang Fei: 200 years! That's quite a long time. More than a jiffy!

William: Yes, and that's several billion shakes of a lamb's tail.

Wang Fei: Yes and all those ticks of a clock! Bye for now.

William: Bye bye.

Example
A: Are you going to help me with sofa or not?!
B: What sofa? You need help with a sofa?

The English We Speak British Broadcasting Corporation 2011

Page 2 of 2
bbclearningenglish.com