The sands of time is an idiom meaning that time runs out either through something reaching an end or through a person's death. It comes from the sand used in hourglasses, an ancient way of measuring time.
Country: International English |Subject Area:Time |Usage Type: Both or All Words Used
used as a way of referring to time, especially to the fact that it passes quickly: This is the best chance the ageing player has of holding back the sands of time. The small Chicago theater has, incredibly, beaten back the shifting sands of time and high rents to survive for more than 25 years.
The amount of sand determines the amount of time that passes as the chamber is emptied. The image of the sand being emptied in the hourglass creates a visual metaphor for the limited duration of human life, and for the inevitability of change in the world as a whole.
The phrase "sands of time" is an allegorical device that attempts to explain the concept of time by comparing it with sand. The passage of time is akin to the flow of sand in an hourglass - steady.
The hourglass, with its swirling sands of time, has been a symbol of the passage of time for centuries. As the sands flow from the top to the bottom, we are reminded that time is finite and that each grain represents a moment in our lives.
used to say that there is not much time left in which to achieve something: time is running out for Time is running out for the men trapped under the rubble. See more. Fewer examples.
In Matthew 7, Jesus said everyone who hears his words and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. Then he went on to say everyone who hears his words and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand (Matthew 7:24-26).
The expression, “Footprints on the Sands of Time,” appears in Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's celebrated poem, “A Psalm of Life”. It represents an imaginative conjunction of life and death. Though we are mortal, we can leave footprints for succeeding generations. Thus, there is life in death.
English and Scottish: topographic name from Middle English sandes 'sands', for someone who lived at or near a sandy place, or a habitational name from a place so named, such as Sands in Carlisle (Cumberland) or Sands Cottages in West Hoathly (Sussex).
Introduction: My name is Francesca Jacobs Ret, I am a innocent, super, beautiful, charming, lucky, gentle, clever person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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