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| an extraordinary or unusual thing, person, or event; an exceptional example or instance. |
| a chattering or flighty, light-headed person. |
| split second | |
| —n | |
| 1. | an extremely small period of time; instant |
| —adj | |
| 2. | made or arrived at in an infinitely short time: a split-second decision |
| 3. | depending upon minute precision: split-second timing |
split second
An instant, a fraction of a second, as in Our best swimmer came in a split second before theirs. This expression alludes to a stop watch that has two second hands, one above the other, for timing more than one athlete or intervals of a race by a single athlete. Each hand can be stopped independently of the other, so a second can be "split" when one second hand stops a fraction of a second after the other. [c. 1880]