burns daylight
Fritters away hours
To burn daylight is to waste time, especially during hours when productive work could be done.
The phrase comes from an era when daylight was precious—once the sun set, work became difficult or impossible.
Now mostly literary or deliberately old-fashioned: We're burning daylight; let's get moving.
- waste timeUse moments unproductively
- kill timePass hours aimlessly
- twiddling thumbsGesture of impatient boredom
- procrastinationHabitual task avoidance
- dilly dallyWaste time idly
sunrise · hesitation · time management · indecision · complacency · overthinking · spinning one's wheels · dawdling · avoidance · make hay while the sun shines · the early bird · distraction · idle hands · Romeo and Juliet · laziness · productivity · frittering away · time is money
burns daylightmakes hay while the sun shines
Capitalizes on favorable circumstances
carpe diem · gets down to business · hits the ground running · hustles · cuts to the chase
burns daylighttakes action
Begins doing something
buckles down · cuts to the chase · knuckles down · applies oneself · puts one's shoulder to the wheel
burn, burns, burned, burning, burner, burners, burnout, sunburn, day