forever and a day
Idioms-
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]
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Incessantly, ceaselessly, as in Will this racket never end? It's been going on forever and a day . [ Colloquial ; first half of 1900s]
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Perhaps productions may, after all, last forever and a day.
From Los Angeles Times
Movies take forever and a day to develop and produce; even if this weren’t the case, one should always be cautious with the “This is what the filmmakers are trying to say” game.
From Los Angeles Times
“What a baby,” Briggs said, stretching out his voice so the vowels took forever and a day.
From Literature
"The people of Coniston will have Bluebird, as they deserve, and my dad's remains forever and a day."
From BBC
“I don’t think it should take forever and a day,” the governor said.
From Seattle Times
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
