Literal translation
In a turn of the eye.
Meaning
in the blink of an eye
Explanation
This expression of speed relies on the briefest gesture imaginable: the turning of the eye, with vira meaning the action of turning and uei meaning the eye. The formation dins un vira d'uei, literally in a turn of the eye, corresponds very precisely to the equivalent English phrase in the blink of an eye, with the slight difference that Provençal foregrounds the turning motion, in place of the closing of the eyelid. It follows a common device in Romance languages that measures the shortest possible span of time by reference to an instantaneous, involuntary facial gesture. It is used in ordinary register to stress the extreme speed with which an action unfolds or unfolded, often in narrative contexts: something vanished, happened, or changed dins un vira d'uei, before the observer had time to react. It carries no particular connotation of surprise or admiration: it simply describes a duration.