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 • Dec. 2, 2025
"The people of Coniston will have Bluebird, as they deserve, and my dad's remains forever and a day."
From BBC • Mar. 7, 2024
As far as retirement for the Rudd/Stephens siblings, 40 years can feel like forever and a day.
From Seattle Times • Feb. 3, 2024
The short answer is that the dazzling — and costly — array of visual effects means these films spend forever and a day in preproduction.
From New York Times • Sep. 9, 2022
“What a baby,” Briggs said, stretching out his voice so the vowels took forever and a day.
From "Caterpillar Summer" by Gillian McDunn
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.
