Idiom
never in a month of Sundays
Meaning
At no time whatsoever.
Meaning adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Examples
“I will never in a month of Sundays agree to that plan.”
“You will find a cheaper apartment in this city never in a month of Sundays.”
“I will wear those bright orange pants never in a month of Sundays.”
“He told his boss that he would never in a month of Sundays finish such a massive project by tomorrow morning.”
“My grandmother believes that my brother will clean his messy garage never in a month of Sundays, despite his many promises to do it.”
“The old car is so broken that it will start again never in a month of Sundays, even if a professional mechanic looks at it.”
“She insisted that, never in a month of Sundays, would she return to the place where she had suffered such profound disappointment.”
Examples
simple
“I will never in a month of Sundays agree to that plan.”
“You will find a cheaper apartment in this city never in a month of Sundays.”
“I will wear those bright orange pants never in a month of Sundays.”
contextual
“He told his boss that he would never in a month of Sundays finish such a massive project by tomorrow morning.”
“My grandmother believes that my brother will clean his messy garage never in a month of Sundays, despite his many promises to do it.”
“The old car is so broken that it will start again never in a month of Sundays, even if a professional mechanic looks at it.”
complex
“She insisted that, never in a month of Sundays, would she return to the place where she had suffered such profound disappointment.”
Origin
First recorded in the mid-18th century, the expression relies on the arithmetic of the liturgical calendar. A month of Sundays would mathematically require thirty-one weeks to complete, rendering the duration significantly longer than a standard month. It functions as a hyperbolic measure of time, suggesting an event that will not occur within any foreseeable or conventional span.
Key words
Related idioms
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