So, if the mechanic repairs your car in a day or two, then they did their job “in a timely manner.”Ĭonversely, if you drop by your mechanic a week after handing them your car and they still haven’t fixed it, then it is fair to say that they aren’t doing their job “in a timely manner.” Obviously, depending on how severe the damage is, the repair might take from a couple of hours all the way to a few weeks, especially if special parts need to be ordered.īut, let’s say that whatever is wrong with your car should only take a day or two at the maximum.

Let’s say you take your car to the mechanic and ask them to repair it “in a timely manner.” Ergo, it is sort of a request that whatever you’ve asked of them should be done in a reasonable time frame. The idea is to get the job done in a quick and prompt manner.Īs mentioned, “in a timely manner” is another way of asking someone not to waste time. To do something “in a timely manner” means to get to it immediately and without wasting any time. So, I decided to answer these questions and more. What does it mean when someone asks you do something “in a timely manner”? And, is it the same thing as asking you to finish it by a specific deadline? Similarly, another expression I’ve seen several times, especially on formal letters, yet was never sure what it meant was “in a timely manner.” It was used in a verse, and it means to just barely manage to get something done or to achieve it but by a very narrow margin. Then, I looked into it and found that the expression actually came from the King James Bible. How can someone escape “by the skin of their teeth”? For me, I was never sure what “by the skin of one’s teeth.” It just never made sense to me. There are some expressions that you come across time and again, yet you aren’t sure what they exactly mean.

Doing something in a timely manner