En deux temps, trois mouvements

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Informal French Expression

Meaning	in double time, very quickly
Literally	in two beats, three movements
Register	informal
Pronunciation		[a(n) deu ta(n) trwah moov(eu) ma(n)]
IPA		[ɑ̃ dø tɑ̃ tʀwa muv mɑ̃]

Usage notes: The French expression en deux temps, trois mouvements comes from music: temps refers to "beats" and mouvements indicates "motions" (though there’s an additional musical meaning of "tempo"). So a person creating three motions in just two beats would obviously be moving very quickly.

Par exemple…

En deux temps, trois mouvements il a désarmé le voleur.

He disarmed the thief in the blink of an eye.

Synonyms

• en moins de temps qu’il ne faut pour le dire / l’écrire
• (faire quelque chose) plus vite que son ombre
• très rapidement
• très vite

There are many ways to express this in English:

• before you know it
• in a jiffy
• in double time
• in no time
• in the blink of an eye
• like lightning
• quick as a wink
   
  (old-fashioned)
• before you can say "Jack Robinson"
• in two shakes of a lamb’s tail

 Related lessons

• Musical vocabulary
• Numbers