Idiom
a week is a long time in politics
Meaning
In politics, much change can occur in a short space of time.
Meaning adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Examples
“In this election, a week is a long time in politics.”
“The candidate was leading in the polls yesterday, but a week is a long time in politics and now everything has changed.”
“Given the rapid collapse of the coalition government, observers were reminded once again that a week is a long time in politics.”
Examples
simple
“In this election, a week is a long time in politics.”
contextual
“The candidate was leading in the polls yesterday, but a week is a long time in politics and now everything has changed.”
complex
“Given the rapid collapse of the coalition government, observers were reminded once again that a week is a long time in politics.”
Origin
Usually attributed to British Prime Minister Harold Wilson in the mid-1960s. Also used by (and incorrectly attributed to) Australian PM Gough Whitlam in the 1970s.
Key words
Related idioms
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