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!