"Time is Money" Idiom Meaning, Origin & History | Superduper English Idioms
Channel: Superduper English Idioms
Date: 04/07/2020

0:00 - How to Say, “Time is money.”
0:27 - Examples of “Time is money.”
1:06 - Meaning of “Time is money.”
3:44 - Origin of “Time is money.”
4:05 - More Examples of “Time is money.”
4:41 - Conclusion

“Time is money.”

You’ve no doubt heard someone say that “time is money” when they are trying to get something done quickly.

Maybe you’ve heard, “time is money,” when someone doesn’t want to waste time.

Perhaps your parents have said to you, “You shouldn’t spend too many years in school; time is money!”

“I’ll have your car fixed by this afternoon. Time is money, after all,” your mechanic might say to you.

You may think that, “time is money”, simply means that your time can be exchanged for money, which is true…

… but the idiom is usually used to encourage people to do things faster, more efficiently or more effectively.

For example, you would not hear someone say, “I have to work today, time is money!” even though they are literally exchanging their time for money.

More commonly, you’d hear someone say, “I need to finish this project quickly, time is money!”, encouraging themselves to work fast.

To understand the idiom more thoroughly, you’ll need to understand what money is.

Money is simply a medium of exchange; you can exchange “money” for whatever you need, whether it’s food, someone’s expertise, or someone’s time.

Therefore, “time is money,” at a deeper level means that by using time, you can get what you want; for example growing vegetables, building a house or learning a skill.

The idiom means that time can achieve many things. These things could be human tasks; such as growing rice, saving for a house or finishing school.

These things could also be natural things; such as a tiny seed becoming a massive tree, a giant boulder being turned to sand, or a river being carved into stone.

Though the idiom, “time is money,” has such a deep and thought-provoking meaning, it is normally only said when you want to rush things along or not waste time.

In a quick online search, you might find the idiom, “time is money,” attributed to Benjamin Franklin, a famous US polymath.

However, the idea behind “time is money” is found in writing as early as Classical Greece, 510-323 BCE, but is probably older as it could be considered “common sense”.

“Don’t spend all day playing online games! Time is money,” a parent might say to their child.

You might say to your team, “We need to finish this project in under a month, time is money after all. The sooner, the better!”

Maybe you’re talking to an artist, “Sure, time is money, but art cannot be rushed.”

Whenever you feel like something is taking too long or that it could be done more efficiently, don’t hesitate to say, “time is money!”

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