Tidsprekk

Tidsprekk is a Norwegian term that refers to a break or hiatus in the flow of time, heard in contexts ranging from narrative structure to historical and scientific records. The word combines tid (time) and sprekk (crack or gap) to describe an interval during which no events are documented, experienced, or preserved.

In literature and film, tidsprekk denotes a narrative device that creates a jump or ellipsis in time. Authors and directors use time skips, flashbacks, or montage to signal that a period has passed without detailing every moment, affecting pacing, coherence, and interpretation. The concept helps readers and viewers manage temporal expectations and infer continuity.

In historiography and archaeology, tidsprekk describes a hiatus in the record, where gaps in sources, archives, or material deposition leave an uncertain span between dated events or layers. Such gaps arise from lost records, selective preservation, or erosion, and they complicate reconstructions of past sequences.

Geology uses a closely related idea—a hiatus or unconformity where deposition pauses or erosion removes layers, creating a missing interval in the geological record. Although not identical in each discipline, the underlying notion is a disruption in continuous time.

In cognitive science and daily language, tidsprekk may be used metaphorically to discuss perceived temporal gaps, such as moments of memory lapse or unusually long pauses in life events.

See also: hiatus, narrative ellipsis, temporal gap, stratigraphic hiatus.