before you can say Jack Robinson

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before you can say Jack Robinson

Where it comes from

Uncertain. There is some speculation that this is a reference to Sir John Robinson, the Lieutenant of the Tower of London from 1660 to 1680 and Lord Mayor of London in 1662, but there is nothing known about him that is associated with speed (Samuel Pepys called him as “a talking bragging bufflehead.”), and the phrase does not appear in print until 1778.

phrase

Very quickly; quicker than one expects. You have to be careful in that area. They'll have your wallet before you can say Jack Robinson.
Similar: before you can say knife, before you can say Jack Robertson, in the twinkling of an eye, in two shakes of a lamb's tail, quick as a flash, quick as a fox, quick as lightning

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MLA

"before you can say Jack Robinson." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/before%20you%20can%20say%20jack%20robinson. Accessed 7 Nov. 2026.

APA

before you can say Jack Robinson. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 7, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/before%20you%20can%20say%20jack%20robinson

Chicago

"before you can say Jack Robinson." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 7, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/before%20you%20can%20say%20jack%20robinson.

BibTeX

@misc{before_you_can_say_jack_robinson_2026,
  title = {before you can say Jack Robinson},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/before%20you%20can%20say%20jack%20robinson},
  urldate = {2026-11-07}
}