now or never | Idiomator

Meaning: (idiomatic,set phrase)At thissoleopportunityortime, or not at all.1709July 18 (Gregorian calendar), Jenny Distaff [pseudonym;Richard Steele], “Thursday, July 7, 1709”, inThe Tatler, number38; republished in [Richard Steele], editor,The Tatler,[…], London stereotype edition, volume I, London: I. Walker and Co.;[…],1822,→OCLC,page232:[A]s you tender the welfare of your country, I entreat you not to forget or delay so public-spirited a work.Now or neveris the time.The spelling has been modernized.1855,Charles Kingsley, “What Befel at La Guayra”, inWestward Ho!: Or, The Voyages and Adventures of Sir Amyas Leigh, Knight,[…], volume II, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire:Macmillan & Co.,→OCLC,page309:"Come off,now or never," cried Amyas, clutching him by the arm, and dragging him away like a child.1932August 17,P[elham] G[renville] Wodehouse, chapter 13, inHot Water, Woodstock; New York, N.Y.:The Overlook Press, published2003,→ISBN, section 2,page209:This was the moment when he must put his fortune to the test, to win or lose it all.Now or nevermust the balloon go up.1960April 3 (date recorded),Wally Gold,Aaron Schroeder,Eduardo di Capua, “It’s Now or Never”, performed byElvis Presley, New York, N.Y.:RCA Victor, published5 July 1960,→OCLC:It'snow or never/ Come hold me tight / Kiss me my darling / Be mine tonight / Tomorrow will be too late / It'snow or never/ My love won't wait1975March 12 (date recorded),Benny Andersson,Björn Ulvaeus,Stig Anderson, “Mamma Mia”, inABBA, performed byABBA, New York, N.Y.:Atlantic Records, published21 April 1975,→OCLC:Mamma mia, even if I say / "Bye-bye", leave menow or never/ Mamma mia, it's a game we play / Bye-bye doesn't mean forever2021April 29, Jamie Jackson, “Edinson CavaniandBruno FernandeshelpManchester UnitedhitRomafor six”, inKatharine Viner, editor,The Guardian‎[1], London:Guardian News & Media,→ISSN,→OCLC, archived fromthe originalon3 October 2023:There had been a sense ofnow or neverabout this semi-final for United. Another elimination would be a fifth last-four reverse under the manager and serious questions would be asked regarding their ability to break the psychological barrier that separates also-rans from winners.

Examples:

EN: I know all about that other time, it's now or never!
ES: Esa 'otra vez' ya me la conozco, ¡ahora o nunca!
EN: - It's now or never.
ES: - Es ahora o nunca.
EN: It's now or never!
ES: ¡Es ahora o nunca!
EN: It's now or never.
ES: Ahora o nunca.
EN: It's now or never
ES: Desde luego, nosotros confiamos plenamente en usted, Sr. Kolinoff. Absolutamente.
EN: You have to wind this up now or never.
ES: Debe aclarar esto de una vez.
EN: Death or victory, now or never.
ES: "¡Muerte o victoria! ¡Ahora o nunca!"
EN: It's now or never! -Off with its head.
ES: - Saquémosle la cabeza.
EN: That's right... - now or never.
ES: Eso es... enseguida o nunca.
EN: But now or never. Come on, Gene.
ES: Será ahora o nunca.
EN: Karaga, tell them it's now or never.
ES: Es ahora o nunca.
EN: No, André, I'll leave with you right now or never.
ES: Me iré con usted ahora mismo o nunca.
EN: By the looks of the storm it's now or never.
ES: Con esta tormenta, ahora o nunca.
EN: But it's now or never.
ES: Pero ahora o nunca.
EN: Jane, I'll give you onelastchance, it's now or never.
ES: - Muy bien. ¡Muy bien! Me voy a Australia esta noche.

Note: the examples for non latin scripts have a high likelihood of mistakes, we do not own any of this data and it is sourced from Wiktionary, the NLLB database and Opensubtitles. Please help us improve this by contributing correct examples. We will be working to fix this issue over time however it is a bigger issue due to the the difficulties in dealing with non latin scripts and grammatical structures(non-romantic/european languages have lower resources as well ).