work against the clock

to work very fast because you know you only have a limited period of time to do something Scientists were working against the clock to collect specimens before the volcano erupted again.

Common Names:

Name	Pronounced	Usage
Daedalus	DED-ə-ləs (English)	Greek Mythology (Latinized)
Urias	-	Biblical Latin
Lilavati	-	Indian, Hindi (Rare)
Griselda	gri-ZEL-də (English)	English, Scottish, Spanish, Literature
Stoyan	-	Bulgarian
Terence	TER-ənts	English