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3. in two shakes

in two shakes

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in two shakes (of a lamb's tail)

  (old-fashioned) also in a couple of shakes (old-fashioned)

very soon I'll be with you in two shakes of a lamb's tail.

See also: shake, two

in two shakes

Also, in two shakes of a lamb's tail Very quickly, very soon, as in I'll be with you in two shakes, or She'll be finished in two shakes of a lamb's tail. The longer idiom alludes to the friskiness of lambs; the shorter one may be an abbreviation of the longer one, or it may refer to the shaking of dice or any two quick movements. [Early 1800s]

See also: shake, two