never-never

[nev-er-nev-er]

noun

1. never-never land.

2. British Slang.,  hire-purchase system.

adjective

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

   the never-never world of the cinema.

never-never

noun

1. the hire-purchase system of buying

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

adjective

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of never-never¹

First recorded in 1880–85