forever and a day

forever and a day

1. Eternally; always; ceaselessly. Honey, I'll love you forever and a day!

2. An exceptionally long period of time. Jim, how you been? It's been forever and a day since I last saw you!

See also: and, forever

forever and a day

1. 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]

2. Incessantly, ceaselessly, as in Will this racket never end? It's been going on forever and a day. [Colloquial; first half of 1900s]

See also: and, forever

for ever and a day

Always; forever.

See also: and, ever