What is "to burn daylight"

Burn \Burn\ (b[^u]rn), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Burned (b[^u]rnd) or Burnt (b[^u]rnt); p. pr. & vb. n. Burning.] [OE. bernen, brennen, v. t., early confused with beornen, birnen, v. i., AS. b[ae]rnan, bernan, v. t., birnan, v. i.; akin to OS. brinnan, OFries. barna, berna, OHG. brinnan, brennan, G. brennen, OD. bernen, D. branden, Dan. br[ae]nde, Sw. br["a]nna, brinna, Icel. brenna, Goth. brinnan, brannjan (in comp.), and possibly to E. fervent.]

1. To consume with fire; to reduce to ashes by the action of heat or fire; -- frequently intensified by up: as, to burn up wood. ``We'll burn his body in the holy place.''
   --Shak.

2. To injure by fire or heat; to change destructively some property or properties of, by undue exposure to fire or heat; to scorch; to scald; to blister; to singe; to char; to sear; as, to burn steel in forging; to burn one's face in the sun; the sun burns the grass.

3. To perfect or improve by fire or heat; to submit to the action of fire or heat for some economic purpose; to destroy or change some property or properties of, by exposure to fire or heat in due degree for obtaining a desired residuum, product, or effect; to bake; as, to burn clay in making bricks or pottery; to burn wood so as to produce charcoal; to burn limestone for the lime.

4. To make or produce, as an effect or result, by the application of fire or heat; as, to burn a hole; to burn charcoal; to burn letters into a block.

5. To consume, injure, or change the condition of, as if by action of fire or heat; to affect as fire or heat does; as, to burn the mouth with pepper.

   This tyrant fever burns me up.
   --Shak.

   This dry sorrow burns up all my tears.
   --Dryden.

   When the cold north wind bloweth, . . . it devoureth the mountains, and burneth the wilderness, and consumeth the ??ass as fire.
   --Ecclus. xliii. 20, 21.

6. (Surg.) To apply a cautery to; to cauterize.

7. (Chem.) To cause to combine with oxygen or other active agent, with evolution of heat; to consume; to oxidize; as, a man burns a certain amount of carbon at each respiration; to burn iron in oxygen. To burn, To burn together, as two surfaces of metal (Engin.), to fuse and unite them by pouring over them a quantity of the same metal in a liquid state. To burn a bowl (Game of Bowls), to displace it accidentally, the bowl so displaced being said to be burned. To burn daylight, to light candles before it is dark; to waste time; to perform superfluous actions. --Shak. To burn one's fingers, to get one's self into unexpected trouble, as by interfering the concerns of others, speculation, etc. To burn out,

   1. to destroy or obliterate by burning. ``Must you with hot irons burn out mine eyes?''
      --Shak.

   2. to force (people) to flee by burning their homes or places of business; as, the rioters burned out the Chinese businessmen.

      To be burned out, to suffer loss by fire, as the burning of one's house, store, or shop, with the contents.

      To burn up, To burn down, to burn entirely.