colloq. Also 8 jeffy, 9 jiffey. [Origin unascertained.] A very short space of time; only in such phrases as in a jiffy, in a trice.
1785. Munchhausen’s Trav., xxiii. (1792), 96. In six jiffies I found myself and all my retinue … at the rock of Gibralter.
1796. Grose, Dict. Vulgar Tongue, s.v., It will be done in a jeffy: it will be done in a short space of time, in an instant.
1833. Marryat, P. Simple, xiii. We were ordered to South America; and the trade winds took us there in a jiffey.
a. 1845. Hood, T. Trumpet, xxxv. In half a jiffy, or less than that.
1880. Spurgeon, J. Ploughm. Pict., 100. They have wonderful plans for doing everything in a jiffy.
