tick away

tick away (third-person singular simple present ticks away, present participle ticking away, simple past and past participle ticked away)

1. (of time) To count down to zero (i.e. signaling the end (or start) of something).
   • 1973, Roger Waters (lyrics and music), “Time”, in The Dark Side of the Moon, performed by Pink Floyd:

     Ticking away the moments that make up the dull day

   • 2011 January 30, “Wolverhampton 0 - 1 Stoke”, in BBC‎^[1]:

     With time ticking away, Nenad Milijas fell in the box under Huth's challenge, but Sorenson saved the midfielder's spot kick to send the Potters through.