How Fast Is ‘Two Shakes of a Lamb’s Tail’?

The English language has many expressions that describe a fast-moving event. Some expressions relate to body movements. We say something happens in the blink of an eye or in a heartbeat. Other expressions are related to the world of nature. Today we will talk about a speed-related expression involving an animal. But it is none of them. You guessed it! The expression today involves sheep – baby lambs to be exact! Lambs are cute. But they are not really known for their lightning speed. Well, our expression is about a specific part of the animal – its tail. I suspect lambs can shake their tails very fast. Because when something happens quickly, we say it happens in “two shakes of a lamb's tail.” Here is an example: “I'm going to the store. I'll be back in two shakes of a lamb's tail!” This expression is a cuter and more descriptive way of saying “quickly.” Maybe instead of sending a text message with the letters BRB (be right back), we could use the image of a lamb shaking its tail. That would fun! Being cute like a lamb may be fun. But it has its drawbacks. Cute things are often not taken seriously. And this cute factor is the main reason Americans rarely use “two shakes of a lamb's tail” in a serious situation. For example, if I see a person get hit by a car, I would not say, “Hold on! Help will be here in two shakes of a lamb's tail!” That would not make the injured person lying in the middle of the street feel reassured. In an emergency like that, I would say something like, “Help is on the way!” Generally speaking, an emergency is not a good time to use cute animal expressions. You should know that we often shorten this expression to simply “two shakes” – as in, “I'll be there in two shakes!” You should not use that one for emergencies either. But we will be back in two shakes of a lamb's tail.