Idioms related to time

An African proverb says: You have the watches, but we have the time. This sums up very well the importance of being productive, of working very hard to achieve one's goals in America. They take only two weeks off in August, and the rest of the time they are at work so they can buy all kinds of things, as opposed to the poor Africans who have all the time in the world in their hands but can't even buy a bicycle.

That is why I wanted to teach you some idioms related to the time, a very important Anglo-saxon value, as in their view, time should not be wasted.

in the blink of an eye	If something happens in the blink of an eye, it happens nearly instantaneously, with hardly enough time to notice it. The pickpocket disappeared in the blink of an eye.
by degrees	If something happens or develops by degrees, it happens gradually or little by little as time goes by. By degrees their business relationship grew into friendship.
clock in/out	When you clock in or out, you record the time you arrive or leave your job by punching a time clock to the show the  number of hours you have worked. I'm going to clock out early today.  I've got a dental appointment.
cut it/things fine	If you cut it/cut things fine, you leave barely enough time to do something. You're counting just an hour between the airport and the train station - isn't that cutting things a bit fine?
a day late and a dollar short	If something is a day late and a dollar short, it comes too late and is not good enough. They offered me an internship when I had already found a job - a day late and a dollar short!
donkey's years	If someone has been doing something for donkey's years, they have been doing it for a very long time. He knows the town inside out.  He's been living here for donkey's  years.
down to the wire	If something such as project or a match goes down to the wire, the situation can change up until the last possible moment. There's nothing as exciting as watching a game that goes down to the wire.
at the eleventh hour	If something happens at the eleventh hour, it happens when it is almost too late, or at the last possible moment. Our team won after they scored a goal at the eleventh hour.
five o'clock shadow	This expression refers to a patch of stubble on the face of a man who hasn't shaved for at least a day. He looked tired and had a five o'clock shadow.
in the interim	Something that happens in the interim takes place during a period of time between two events. I won't have the apartment until next month. In the interim I'm staying at a local hotel.
in the long run	This term refers to something that will have effect over or after a long period of time. Learning Chinese is going to be difficult, but it'll be worth it in the long run because it will help me to get a better job.