"A waist of thyme” sounds like “a waste of time.” “Waist of thyme” has been cited in print since at least 1981.

“Did you hear about the dressmaker who wanted to make a blouse out of herbs? Her husband said it would be a waist of thyme” was printed in The Globe and Mail (Toronto, ON) on April 25, 2001. “I got a herb belt for christmas. Complete waist of thyme” was posted on Twitter by Dr Congo on December 26, 2009. “Homonyms are a reel waist of thyme” was posted on Twitter by Matt Lavonas on May 20, 2010.


Google Books
11 May 1981, InfoWorld, “Dictionary Dephence,” pg. 13, col. 2:
However, as author of one those “weird processors with a dictionary” (MicroSpell), I must challenge the Compal contention that “Automatic spelling dictionaries is a waist of thyme an money.”
(...)
Bob Lucas
Pittsburgh, PA

Google Groups: alt.support.big-folks
Overeaters Anonymous
rhk8563
6/15/93
(...)
Robin “Dieting is a waist of thyme” King

Google Groups: alt.1d
WASTE OF TIME
Sandra P. Hoffman
7/2/93
(...)
a waist of thyme is a state of mynd.

Google Groups: sdnet.wanted
Modem# For CountyJail Inf
BILL WATTS
8/10/95
(...)
U rote it - Eye red it.  What a waist of thyme.

25 April 2001, The Globe and Mail (Toronto, ON), “Smile,” pg. A2:
Did you hear about the dressmaker who wanted to make a blouse out of herbs? Her husband said it would be a waist of thyme.—Charles Crockford, Waterloo, Ont

Google Groups: alt.sport.dragracing
Nitrous horror stories
^Johnny^~
8/11/01
(...)
I stuff spices in my money belt. What a waist of thyme..

16 October 2005, Sunday Gazette-Mail (Charleston, WV), “Clever Costumes: Halloween attire made of wit and simplicity” by Rosalie Earle, pg. 1F:
String together a belt out of the spice thyme to tie around your midsection. Then you would be “a waist of thyme.”

Twitter
Bitter Jobless
@Bitterjobless
My job search is like a herbal belt: a waist of thyme.
1:51 PM - 28 Oct 2009

Twitter
Dr Congo
@bigcarlos71
I got a herb belt for christmas. Complete waist of thyme…
2:17 PM - 26 Dec 2009

Twitter
Matt Lavonas
@mattlavonas
Homonyms are a reel waist of thyme.
8:14 PM - 20 May 2010

Google Books
Jokes for Blokes:
The Ultimate Book of Jokes not Suitable for Mixed Company
By Llewellyn Dowd and Phil McCracken
London, UK: Ebury Press
2011
Pg. 250:
I got a herb belt for Christmas. Complete waist of thyme.

Google Books
The Mammoth Book of One-Liners
Compiled by Geoff Tibballs
London, UK: Constable & Robinson Ltd
2012
Pg. ?:
I got a herbal belt for Christmas – complete waist of thyme.

Reddit—Jokes
I once made a belt out of herbs.
submitted October 21, 2015 by Fawskeen
It wasn’t very useful and just ended up being a waist of thyme.

Reddit—Puns
Why didn’t anybody think making a belt from herbs was worth it? (self.puns)
submitted December 16, 2015 by Ykcin81
It was a waist of thyme.

Reddit—Punny
I tied all the herbs in my kitchen together to make a new belt (self.Punny)
submitted June 16, 2018 by wqzu
but it was just a waist of thyme

Reddit—Clean Jokes
I spent four hours last night making a belt out of fresh herbs… (self.cleanjokes)
submitted October 10, 2018 by madazzahatterQuality “Ugh” Contributor
What a waist of thyme that turned out to be…