a month of Sundays
An extremely long, often indefinite period of time. Often used in negative constructions, especially to mean "never." A: "Do you think Samantha will agree to go on a date with Jake?" B: "Not in a month of Sundays!" We'll be here for a month of Sundays trying to sort through all this paperwork! Hey, Al, haven't seen you in a month of Sundays! How have you been?
haven't seen you in a month of Sundays
A phrase used when one encounters someone after an extremely long, often indefinite period of time. Hey, Al, haven't seen you in a month of Sundays! How have you been? I haven't seen you in a month of Sundays, so we have loads to catch up on! A: "Whoa, Charlotte? I didn't even recognize you!" B: "I know, I haven't seen you in a month of Sundays!"
in a coon's age
In an exceptionally long period of time. Based on the folk belief that raccoons (shortened colloquially to "coons") have a longer-than-average lifespan. Primarily heard in US. I haven't seen you in a coon's age! How have you been? I haven't been on a vacation in a coon's age. Gosh, I haven't been back to my hometown in a coon's age. I wonder how much it's changed.
in a month of Sundays
1. At any point; under any circumstances. Used in the negative to convey that something will never happen. Not in a month of Sundays did I think that I would actually win the lottery! A: "Do you think Samantha will agree to go on a date with Jake?" B: "Not in a month of Sundays!" You expect those two political parties to work together on a solution to climate change? Ha, not in a month of Sundays!
2. In an exceptionally long period of time. I haven't seen you in a month of Sundays! How have you been? I haven't been on a vacation in a month of Sundays. A: "Whoa, Charlotte? I didn't even recognize you!" B: "I know, I haven't seen you in a month of Sundays!"
never in a month of Sundays
Not at any point; under absolutely no circumstances. Never in a month of Sundays did I think that I would actually win the lottery! A: "Do you think Samantha will agree to go on a date with Jake?" B: "Never in a month of Sundays!"
not in a month of Sundays
Not at any point; under absolutely no circumstances. Not in a month of Sundays did I think that I would actually win the lottery! A: "Do you think Samantha will agree to go on a date with Jake?" B: "Not in a month of Sundays!"
when two Sundays come together
Never. Usually said sarcastically. A: "When are you going to help me clean out the garage?" B: "How about when two Sundays come together?"
when two Sundays meet
Never. Usually said sarcastically. A: "When are you going to help me clean out the garage?" B: "How about when two Sundays meet?"
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2024 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.
(I) haven't seen you in a month of Sundays.
Rur. I haven't seen you in a long time. Tom: Hi, Bill Haven't seen you in a month of Sundays! Bill: Hi, Tom. Long time no see. Bob: Well, Fred! Come right in! Haven't seen you in a month of Sundays! Fred: Good to see you, Uncle Bob.
in a coon's age
and in a month of SundaysRur. in a very long time. (The coon is a raccoon.) How are you? I haven't seen you in a coon's age. I haven't had a piece of apple pie this good in a coon's age.
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs. © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
month of Sundays, a
A long time, as in I haven't seen Barbara in a month of Sundays. This expression, which would literally mean thirty weeks, has been used hyperbolically since it was first recorded in 1832. One writer suggests it originally connoted a long dreary time, since games and other kinds of amusement used to be forbidden on Sunday.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer. Copyright © 2003, 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
not in a month of Sundays
or never in a month of Sundays
If you say that something will not or will never happen in a month of Sundays, you mean it is very unlikely to happen. Their scheme will never work — not in a month of Sundays.
Collins COBUILD Idioms Dictionary, 3rd ed. © HarperCollins Publishers 2012
a month of Sundays
a very long, seemingly endless period of time. This expression may be a reference to the traditionally slow passage of Sundays as a result of religious restrictions on activity or entertainment. In a letter written in 1849 , G. E. Jewsbury talked of the absence of mail deliveries on Sundays, remarking: ‘If I don't get a better letter from you…you may pass “a month of Sundays” at breakfast without any letter from me’.
1998 Country Life All in all, the Ministry of Agriculture is gaining the no-nonsense, get-your-coats-off atmosphere that Jack Cunningham could not have managed in a month of Sundays.
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary © Farlex 2017
(not for/in) a ˌmonth of ˈSundays
(spoken) used to emphasize that something will never happen: ‘Do you think she’ll be able to sell the house at that price?’ ‘Not in a month of Sundays. It’s far too much.’Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary © Farlex 2017
month of Sundays
Informal An indefinitely long period of time: It will take you a month of Sundays to chop all that wood.
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
month of Sundays, a
A very long time. It is doubtful that this expression, which dates from the early nineteenth century, was ever meant literally—that is, a period of thirty Sundays (or weeks). It first appeared in print in Frederick Marryat’s Newton Forster (1832) and was surely a cliché by the time Ogden Nash played on it in “My Dear, How Did You Ever Think up This Delicious Salad?” (1935): “The salad course nowadays seems to be a month of sundaes.” The British version, a week of Sundays, is never heard in America.
The Dictionary of Clichés by Christine Ammer Copyright © 2013 by Christine Ammer