forever and a day
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For a very long time, as in He's been working on that book forever and a day. This hyperbolic expression probably originated as a corruption of the now obsolete for ever and ay. Shakespeare used it in The Taming of the Shrew (4:4): “Farewell for ever and a day.” Today it is mainly a substitute for “very long time.” [c. 1600]
Incessantly, ceaselessly, as in Will this racket never end? It's been going on forever and a day. [Colloquial; first half of 1900s]
QUIZ
GOOSES. GEESES. I WANT THIS QUIZ ON PLURAL NOUNS!
Test how much you really know about regular and irregular plural nouns with this quiz.
Question 1 of 9
Which of the following nouns has an irregular plural form?
Words nearby forever and a day
foretopman, fore-topmast, fore-topsail, foretriangle, forever, forever and a day, forevermore, foreverness, forewarn, Forewarned is forearmed, forewaters
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary
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