: The idiom "killing time" was first recorded in English around 1768. It stems from the concept of time being a "burden" that one must "kill" to make it more bearable.
The expression matar el tiempo (the infinitive form) means to engage in activities of little or no utility to make a period of waiting feel shorter. Matando el tiempo
: Some thinkers have cautioned against the phrase, notably the 19th-century dramatist Dion Boucicault and modern author Paulo Coelho, both of whom famously noted that while men talk of "killing time," time is actually "killing them". Matando el Tiempo in Film and Media : The idiom "killing time" was first recorded