when the fat lady sings

when the fat lady sings

When a given situation, event, effort, etc., is completely finished or concluded. It is often used in reference to organized competitions, such as sporting events, political elections, etc. A: "We're down by six points with only two minutes remaining. There's no way we can win now!" B: "Hey, we'll call it quits when the fat lady sings!" Most other candidates would have conceded the election at this point, but I'll concede defeat when the fat lady sings!

See also: fat, lady, sing

Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2015 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.

when the fat lady sings

verb

See till the fat lady sings

See also: fat, lady, sing

McGraw-Hill's Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions Copyright © 2006 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.