"burn daylight" meaning in English

{
  "etymology_text": "Originally a reference to burning candles during the day.",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "burns daylight",
      "tags": [
        "present",
        "singular",
        "third-person"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "burning daylight",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "present"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "burned daylight",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "past"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "burned daylight",
      "tags": [
        "past"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "burnt daylight",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "past"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "burnt daylight",
      "tags": [
        "past"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "*",
        "past2": "burnt daylight"
      },
      "expansion": "burn daylight (third-person singular simple present burns daylight, present participle burning daylight, simple past and past participle burned daylight or burnt daylight)",
      "name": "en-verb"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "verb",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "_dis": "78 22",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English entries with incorrect language header",
          "parents": [
            "Entries with incorrect language header",
            "Entry maintenance"
          ],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "73 27",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Pages with 1 entry",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "82 18",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Pages with entries",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "100 0",
          "kind": "topical",
          "langcode": "en",
          "name": "Light",
          "orig": "en:Light",
          "parents": [
            "Energy",
            "Nature",
            "All topics",
            "Fundamental"
          ],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        }
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "1819, Sir Walter Scott, Ivanhoe, page 364:",
          "text": "O, Madam, no candles yet, I beseech you ; don't let us burn daylight.",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1835, Charles Lamb, Elia, page 71:",
          "text": "It beginning to grow a little duskish, Candlemas lustily bawled out for lights, which was opposed by all the Days, who protested against burning daylight.",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1879, George MacDonald, The Marquis of Lossie:",
          "text": "The place was but scantily lighted, for the community at present could ill afford to burn daylight.",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2013, A. Roger Ekirch, At Day's Close: A History of Nighttime:",
          "text": "High on the list of iniquities was “burning daylight,” resorting to artificial light unnecessarily during the day.",
          "type": "quote"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "To use artificial light during the daytime when one could simply use the sunlight."
      ],
      "id": "en-burn_daylight-en-verb-2UZBe-t1",
      "links": [
        [
          "artificial",
          "artificial"
        ],
        [
          "light",
          "light"
        ],
        [
          "daytime",
          "daytime"
        ],
        [
          "sunlight",
          "sunlight"
        ]
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "1595, William Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet:",
          "text": "Mercutio. Come, we burn daylight, ho! Romeo. Nay, that's not so. Mercutio. I mean, sir, in delay. We waste our lights in vain, like lamps by day.",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2007, Tom Thunderhorse, Charlie Goodbear, page 47:",
          "text": "Brad calls out, “Let's not burn daylight when there's work to be done!”",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2010, Terry C. Johnston, Crack in the Sky: A Novel, page 267:",
          "text": "Said he knows how Jack hates to burn daylight—so he'll be here afore you pull out.",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2012, Douglas MacKinnon, Vengeance Is Mine:",
          "text": "Now, let's head out, ma'am. We're burning daylight,”",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2012, Cheryl Kimball, Start Your Own Self Publishing Business:",
          "text": "You will find that the time goes quickly, so don't burn daylight—get marketing!",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2012, Patrick McGlade, Six Miles Per Hour, page 191:",
          "text": "Without anything to look forward to that night, I settled into a very slow pace just trying to burn daylight.",
          "type": "quote"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "To waste time."
      ],
      "id": "en-burn_daylight-en-verb-ac~Z6-on",
      "links": [
        [
          "waste time",
          "waste time"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(idiomatic) To waste time."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "idiomatic"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "word": "burn daylight"
}

{
  "categories": [
    "English entries with incorrect language header",
    "English lemmas",
    "English multiword terms",
    "English verbs",
    "Pages with 1 entry",
    "Pages with entries",
    "en:Light"
  ],
  "etymology_text": "Originally a reference to burning candles during the day.",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "burns daylight",
      "tags": [
        "present",
        "singular",
        "third-person"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "burning daylight",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "present"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "burned daylight",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "past"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "burned daylight",
      "tags": [
        "past"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "burnt daylight",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "past"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "burnt daylight",
      "tags": [
        "past"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "*",
        "past2": "burnt daylight"
      },
      "expansion": "burn daylight (third-person singular simple present burns daylight, present participle burning daylight, simple past and past participle burned daylight or burnt daylight)",
      "name": "en-verb"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "verb",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        "English terms with quotations"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "1819, Sir Walter Scott, Ivanhoe, page 364:",
          "text": "O, Madam, no candles yet, I beseech you ; don't let us burn daylight.",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1835, Charles Lamb, Elia, page 71:",
          "text": "It beginning to grow a little duskish, Candlemas lustily bawled out for lights, which was opposed by all the Days, who protested against burning daylight.",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1879, George MacDonald, The Marquis of Lossie:",
          "text": "The place was but scantily lighted, for the community at present could ill afford to burn daylight.",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2013, A. Roger Ekirch, At Day's Close: A History of Nighttime:",
          "text": "High on the list of iniquities was “burning daylight,” resorting to artificial light unnecessarily during the day.",
          "type": "quote"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "To use artificial light during the daytime when one could simply use the sunlight."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "artificial",
          "artificial"
        ],
        [
          "light",
          "light"
        ],
        [
          "daytime",
          "daytime"
        ],
        [
          "sunlight",
          "sunlight"
        ]
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        "English idioms",
        "English terms with quotations"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "1595, William Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet:",
          "text": "Mercutio. Come, we burn daylight, ho! Romeo. Nay, that's not so. Mercutio. I mean, sir, in delay. We waste our lights in vain, like lamps by day.",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2007, Tom Thunderhorse, Charlie Goodbear, page 47:",
          "text": "Brad calls out, “Let's not burn daylight when there's work to be done!”",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2010, Terry C. Johnston, Crack in the Sky: A Novel, page 267:",
          "text": "Said he knows how Jack hates to burn daylight—so he'll be here afore you pull out.",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2012, Douglas MacKinnon, Vengeance Is Mine:",
          "text": "Now, let's head out, ma'am. We're burning daylight,”",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2012, Cheryl Kimball, Start Your Own Self Publishing Business:",
          "text": "You will find that the time goes quickly, so don't burn daylight—get marketing!",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2012, Patrick McGlade, Six Miles Per Hour, page 191:",
          "text": "Without anything to look forward to that night, I settled into a very slow pace just trying to burn daylight.",
          "type": "quote"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "To waste time."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "waste time",
          "waste time"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(idiomatic) To waste time."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "idiomatic"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "word": "burn daylight"
}