now or never
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now or never
At the current time or not at all. Said of an action that must be done now or will not be able to be done in the future. Once we start our careers, it will be harder and harder to take a backpacking trip like this. It's now or never! If you have to go to the bathroom before we get back on the road, go now, because it's now or never!
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2015 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.
*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.
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs. © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
now or never, it's
It must be done now or not at all, as in If you plan to state your case to the boss, it's now or never. This phrase was first recorded in 1560.
See also: now
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.
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.
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.Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary © Farlex 2017
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.”
The Dictionary of Clichés by Christine Ammer Copyright © 2013 by Christine Ammer