the sands of time
The steady, unstoppable advancement of time. Some people despair to see themselves aging in the mirror as the sands of time slip by, but I relish growing older and seeing myself change along with the rest of the world. For all that we've learned about these ancient structures, their true purpose has been lost in the sands of time.
sands of time
Fig. the accumulated tiny amounts of time; time represented by the sand in an hourglass. The sands of time will make you grow old like everyone else. My only enemy is the sands of time.