blink of an eye

No . . . i would agree that "in the blink of an eye" would be an inappropriate locution to describe a 20 minute wait. That expression means an immeasurably brief period of time.

Thanks, Setanta.

However, if you lived in Detroit, 20 minutes would be considered a "blink of an eye."

An alternative is the wink of an eye.

Is it? I've never heard or seen that expression.

The expression "in a blink of an eye" means "in an instant"; literally, in the length of time it takes your eyes to blink.

(a wink can be a slow thing, e.g. when Mae West did it! )

In the Wink of an Eye: A Novel by Kelly Cherry $18.95

"Cherry proves without a doubt that she possesses a most playful imagination. Outrageous characters are brought to life in a fast-paced tale that is fun to read."?-Houston Chronicle

In the Bolivian backcountry, a band of inept guerrillas begins a revolution that unexpectedly snowballs into a wildcat worldwide movement. First, a shady German industrialist, with an obsession for big deals and big women, devises a scheme to expand the revolt into all of South America. Then the president of the United States embraces the overthrow as part of a vast Western Hemisphere plan. When irate citizens in Tulsa, New York, and London get involved, along with the queen mother and the pope, the insurrection takes on global?-and even cosmic?-dimensions. First published in 1983, Kelly Cherry's political cartoon of a novel offers a captivating cast of characters whose zany doings make an important point about the indomitable power of the human spirit to dream a better future.


Taxco in the wink of an eye

An unconventional visit to the 'silver capital of the world.'

"Looks like Earth formed in the wink of an eye," says one of the researchers, Dr. Steven Moses at the University of Colorado.

But in the wink of an eye I am rising above the affliction In the wink of an eye I am come back in from the cold I don't even have to try - Mary Black song

The wink of an eye: 43,000 hits on Google.
The blink of an eye: 1,590,000 hits

Okay, now I've seen it.

Looks like the usual culprits have changed a perfectly good expression, for no good reason.