never-never

American  

[nev-er-nev-er] / ˈnɛv ərˈnɛv ər /

noun

1. never-never land.

2. British Slang. hire-purchase system.

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adjective

1. not real or true; imaginary or ideal; illusory.

   the never-never world of the cinema.

never-never British  

noun

1. the hire-purchase system of buying

2. remote desert country, as that of W Queensland and central Australia

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adjective

1. imaginary; idyllic (esp in the phrase never-never land )

Etymology

Origin of never-never

First recorded in 1880–85

Example Sentences

“The Punch Bowl,” made in late 1944, when Germany was on its knees, portrayed a “good old German never-never land of unspoiled cobblestone streets.”

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 13, 2026

"It laid bare how incompatible it was to have intelligence services operating in a secret constitutional never-never land and allowed them to become publicly accountable."

From BBC • Dec. 28, 2023

“The board has real work to do and little time to entertain this adventure in never-never land,” he said.

From Washington Times • Aug. 2, 2021

“But until the bulldozers arrive and the leases are terminated and farmers start to go away, it’s not done. It will be in that never-never land of planning.”

From Seattle Times • Dec. 28, 2017

Immediately, the breeze took them straight out, as though Peter Pan had donned them to fly across our yard toward never-never land across the Bay.

From "Jacob Have I Loved" by Katherine Paterson