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Synonyms

till hell freezes over

Idioms  

  1. Forever, as in They said they'd go on searching till hell freezes over, but I'm sure they'll give up soon. This hyperbolic expression dates from the early 1900s. So does its antonym, not till hell freezes over, meaning “never,” as in I'm not giving in, not until hell freezes over.

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.

“We’ll fight till hell freezes over, and then we’ll fight on ice,” said Keithlyn Warner, 55, vice president of one of the District’s three chapters and a regular parade participant.

From Washington Post

“We will fight till hell freezes over,” said Hazel Dukes of the N.A.A.C.P.

From New York Times

"Till hell freezes over!" he told her, grimly.

From Project Gutenberg

That there Dorales will be on your trail till hell freezes over, ma’am!

From Project Gutenberg

Shultz, says one Administration official, will "stay on that job till hell freezes over" rather than let that happen.

From Time Magazine Archive

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.