# first of never

idiom

Source: https://englishreference.com/idiom/first-of-never
Updated: 2026-08-10

## Meaning

A nonexistent day; a day that will never come.

## Examples

- He will pay you back on the first of never.
- When I asked if he would finally finish the project, he laughed and said it would be done on the first of never.
- The politician promised to lower taxes, but the public knew that such a change would arrive on the first of never.

## Origin

The phrase follows the construction of a standard date, composed of a day followed by a month, as in the first of February. It replaces the specific month with a temporal impossibility to indicate a time that will not arrive.

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From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.