time vampire
- noun
- Informal
:
vampiro del tiempo
- Many people believe that social media is a major time vampire that distracts them from more important tasks.
Examples
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During the meeting, the discussion about minor details became a time vampire, wasting valuable time for everyone.
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I and others have successfully used the following strategy to get out of that time-vampire known as "jury duty."
Blog text (33) -
Procrastinating on assignments often turns into a time vampire, preventing students from managing their schedules effectively.
Synonyms
126
2.7
An activity that takes time but does not help you
1
6.5
Something that wastes your time and stops you doing useful work
1
8.3
A person or thing that wastes your time, often by interrupting your work
Antonyms
How Time-Wasting
Surface Forms
Morphology
The noun combines 'time' with the well-known metaphorical properties of 'vampire' (a being that drains/consumes), so a learner who knows both words can readily infer it means something that drains or eats up time. However, the sense is metaphorical rather than strictly compositional and includes pragmatic nuance (unnecessary or wasteful consumption), so it is not fully predictable without exposure.
Etymology
Time vampire comes from the image of a vampire that 'drains' blood; a time vampire 'drains' your time and leaves you tired. That's why people call something a 'time vampire' when it is 'something that uses up a lot of time, often without purpose'.