mark time

mark time
mark time
Fig. to wait; to do nothing but wait. •

I'll just mark time till things get better.

Do you expect me to just stand here and mark time?

* * *
{v. phr.} 1. To move the feet up and down as in marching, but not going forward. * /The officer made the soldiers mark time as a punishment./ 2. To be idle; waiting for something to happen. * /The teacher marked time until all the children were ready for the test./ 3. To seem to be working or doing something, but really not doing it. * /It was so hot that the workmen just marked time./

Dictionary of American idioms. 2013.

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Look at other dictionaries:

  • mark time — {v. phr.} 1. To move the feet up and down as in marching, but not going forward. * /The officer made the soldiers mark time as a punishment./ 2. To be idle; waiting for something to happen. * /The teacher marked time until all the children were… …   Dictionary of American idioms

  • mark time — ► mark time 1) (of troops) march on the spot without moving forward. 2) engage temporarily in routine activities. Main Entry: ↑mark …   English terms dictionary

  • mark time — index pause Burton s Legal Thesaurus. William C. Burton. 2006 …   Law dictionary

  • mark time — tv. to wait; to do nothing but wait. □ I’ll just mark time till things get etter. □ Do you expect me to just stand here and mark time? …   Dictionary of American slang and colloquial expressions

  • mark\ time — v. phr. 1. To move the feet up and down as in marching, but not going forward. The officer made the soldiers mark time as a punishment. 2. To be idle; waiting for something to happen. The teacher marked time until all the children were ready for… …   Словарь американских идиом

  • mark time — phrasal 1. : to keep the time of a marching step (as in military drill) by moving the feet alternately without advancing 2. : to function or operate in a lackadaisical, listless, or unproductive manner : merely go through the motions of activity …   Useful english dictionary

  • mark time — 1) to do nothing, or to make no progress, because you are waiting for something to happen I feel like I m just marking time in this job. 2) if soldiers mark time, they make movements with their arms and legs as if they were marching, but they… …   English dictionary

  • Mark Time Awards — The Mark Time Awards are the most prominent radio drama awards worldwide in conjunction with the Ogle Awards. The awards are granted by the MISFITS Minnesota Society For Interest in Science Fiction and Fantasy and judged by a panel of five… …   Wikipedia

  • mark time — Synonyms and related words: abide, await, be still, beat time, bide, bide the issue, clock, coast, dally, dawdle, delay, dillydally, fix the time, freeze, hang about, hang around, hold everything, hold on, hold your horses, keep quiet, keep time …   Moby Thesaurus

  • mark time — 1》 (of troops) march on the spot without moving forward. 2》 pass one s time in routine activities until a more favourable opportunity presents itself. → mark …   English new terms dictionary

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