any time now
14
1.6
- idiom
- I'm expecting Judge Carroll's clerk to call any time now.
- come any time now
- arrive any time now
- go off any time now
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Watch on YouTubeSo once that opens up on the screen here, any time now I could order a pizza before this actually opens.
- So once that opens up on the screen here, any time now I could order a pizza before this actually opens.
Examples
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Your father had to step out, but he should be back at any time now.
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The good news is that fall should be here any time now.
Blog text (23) -
It's going to pop off any time now.
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I'll have the four pieces you asked for any time now.
Fiction book (1997) -
You may start your descent any time now.
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The fireworks start any time now.
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We are expecting a shipment from them almost any time now.
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It should arrive at Port Sebastian any time now.
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Any time now, Gunny.
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Your father had to step out, but he should be back any time now.
Synonyms
156
1.3
Very quickly, in a short time
79
2.1
Something can happen very soon and without warning
65
3.3
Not likely to happen in the near future
1
8.1
Happening fairly soon but not at a set time
How Soon
Surface Forms
Morphology
The phrase 'any time now' is directly built from 'any' + 'time' + 'now' and can be understood as 'at any moment at the present', so a B1 learner who knows the constituent words can infer it means an event is expected very soon. This temporal composition follows common cross-linguistic patterns (e.g. equivalents meaning 'at any moment') and is therefore immediately comprehensible from its parts.
Etymology
Any time now paints a picture of someone watching a clock or door, because the event could happen at any moment and it might be now. So people say it when something is expected to happen 'very soon'.