| a hypothetical eccentricity in the progress of time that would allow movement back and forth between eras or that would permit the passage of time to be suspended. |
| time warp n. A hypothetical discontinuity or distortion occurring in the flow of time that would move events from one time period to another or suspend the passage of time. |
time warp
A stoppage in the passage of time; also, a distortion of time whereby an event or person could hypothetically move from one era to another. For example, Nothing in their lives has changed since the sixties; they're in a time warp, or Having a seventy-year-old actress portray a teenager
that was some time warp! This term originated in science fiction, where it signifies "a supernatural movement from one era to another," and came to be used more loosely. [c. 1950]