it's now or never

Said of an action that must be done now or else risk never being done in the future. Does anyone have to go to the bathroom before we get back on the road? Because it's now or never! Having finished college with a full-time career on the horizon, I knew it was now or never if I was ever going to go on that trip across Europe I'd been dreaming about for years.

See also: never, now

now or never

At the current moment or not at all. Said of an action that must be done now or else will not be able to be done in the future. Hyphenated if used as a modifier before a noun. Once we start our careers, it will be harder and harder to take the backpacking trip around Europe we've always dreamed of. It's now or never! Does anyone have to go to the bathroom before we get back on the road? Because it's now or never! The president's speech emphasized the importance of the decision, saying that it was a now-or-never moment for the country.

See also: never, now

*now or never

at this time and no other. (*Typically: be ~; become ~.) This is your only chance, John. It's now or never. I decided that it was now or never, and jumped.

See also: never, now

now or never

used to convey urgency.

1994 James Kelman How Late It Was, How Late It's now or never, know what I'm saying; he's out this once, there's no gony be a second time.

See also: never, now

Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary © Farlex 2017

it’s ˌnow or ˈnever

you must do something now because you will not get another opportunity to do it: If we don’t climb it now, we never will. It’s now or never.

See also: never, now

now or never

Last chance to speak or act. This term goes back to the ancient Greeks and Romans. In English, Chaucer used it in Troilus and Criseyde (“Never er now? what sey ye, no?”) and Shakespeare in Henry VI, Part 2, 3.1: “Now, York, or never, steel thy fearful thoughts.”

See also: never, now

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