until the cows come home

Language: en

Meaning: (idiomatic)For a very long period of time.You can crank the engineuntil the cows come home, but it won’t start without fuel.[1609–1612,Francis Beaumont,John Fletcher, “The Captaine”, inComedies and Tragedies[…], London:[…]Humphrey Robinson,[…], and forHumphrey Moseley[…], published1647,→OCLC, Act IV, scene ii,page63, column 1:Good Morrow, / Drinketell the Cow come home, 'tis all pay'd boyes.][1610,Alexander Cooke, “Pope Joane”, inWilliam Oldys, editor,The Harleian Miscellany:[…], volume IV, London:T[homas]Osborne,[…], published1745,→OCLC,page125:If there be any lazy Fellow, any that cannot away with Work, any that would wallow in Pleaſures, he is haſty to be prieſted. And, when he is made one, and hath gotten a Benefice, he conſorts with his Neighbour Prieſts, who are altogether given to Pleaſures; and then both he, and they, live, not likeChriſtians, but likeEpicures; drinking, eating, feaſting, and revelling,till the Cow come Home, as the saying is; [...]][c.1613–1616,Francis Beaumont,John Fletcher, “The Scornful Lady, a Comedy”, inFifty Comedies and Tragedies.[…],[part 1], London:[…]J[ohn]Macock[and H. Hills], forJohn Martyn,Henry Herringman, andRichard Marriot, published1679,→OCLC, Act II, scene i,page68, column 1:Come my brave Man of War, trace out thy darling, / As you my learned Council, ſit and turn boyes, / Kiſstill the Cow come home, kiſs cloſe, kiſs cloſe knaves. / My Modern Poet, thou ſhalt kiſs in couplets.]1738, Simon Wagstaff [pseudonym;Jonathan Swift], “Dialogue II”, inA Complete Collection of Genteel and Ingenious Conversation, According to the Most Polite Mode and Method Now Used at Court, and in the Best Companies of England. In Three Dialogues, London: Printed forB[enjamin]Motte, and C. Bathurst[…],→OCLC,page158:Miſs, if I had ſaid ſo, I ſhould have told a Fib; I warrant you lay a Bedtill the Cows came home: But, Miſs, ſhall I cut you a little Cruſt now my Hand is in?1829,The Times, London:If the Duke [Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington] will but do what he unquestionably can do, and propose a Catholic Bill with securities, he may be Minister [inRobert Peel's cabinet], as they say in Scotland "until the cows come home."1952March 10, JusticeFelix Frankfurter(dissenting),Sacher v. United States343U.S.1,Supreme Court of the United States,pages 69–70:Now I can't stop lawyers from calling me names and saying I am guilty of judicial misconduct and that I am prejudiced, and this, that and the other thing, and you can keep that upuntil the cows come home; that is all right, and I take no umbrage at it.1996,Sam Falle,My Lucky Life: In War, Revolution, Peace and Diplomacy, Lewes, East Sussex: Book Guild,→ISBN, page80:Middleton, up to that time, July 1952, had been prepared to give the lovable old gentleman the benefit of every possible doubt and talk to himuntil the cows had come homeand gone to bed.2003,Clive James, “The Meaning of Recognition”, inAustralian Book Review, numbers248–257,page27:But I could quote fromAnimal WarmthandUp On All Foursuntil the cows come home. I could quoteuntil the cows came homeabout the cows not coming home.2012, Darlene Franklin,A Ranger's Trail(Texas Trails: A Morgan Family series), Chicago, Ill.:Moody Publishers,→ISBN:She could list Buck's good qualities from nowuntil the cows came home. If the cows came home. If she waited for him to returnuntil the cows came home, she'd never see any of them again.2014, Tom Weaver, “Robert Dix”, inEarth vs. the Sci-Fi Filmmakers: 20 Interviews, Jefferson, N.C.; London:McFarland & Company,→ISBN, page77:John [Carradine] and I became quite close, we worked in several movies together. He could recite Shakespeare’til the cows came home[laughs], and he had a heart as big as outdoors.2015,Karen Rose,Alone in the Dark(The Cincinnati Series; book 2), London:Headline,→ISBN:Anders and his wife had bought a house in an exclusive Cincinnati community where they'd partied with the wealthy elite, "hobnobbing"until the cows had come home.

Examples:

EN: I'll say it and I'll keep on saying it until the cows come home.
ES: ¡Lo he dicho y seguiré diciéndolo!
EN: I'll probably be sat here with you night after night until the cows come home.
ES: Probablemente me sentaré aquí contigo noche tras noche hasta que las vacas regresen.
EN: We'll win if it takes from now until the cows come home.
ES: Aunque tardemos toda la vida en conseguirlo.
EN: Otherwise the little Dolly will be betraying, betraying, betraying until the cows come home.
ES: De otro modo la pequeña Dolly estará delatando,delatando,delatando hasta que las vacas vengan a casa.
EN: In addition, his own party worries that without Senator Adams's strong support... his controversial energy bill will linger in subcommittee... at least until the cows come home.
ES: Además, su propio partido teme que, sin el apoyo del senador Adams el subcomité no apruebe su proyecto energético en mucho tiempo.
EN: I'm not putting you down until the cows come home.
ES: No te dejaré hasta que las ranas críen pelo.
EN: I mean, I can beat up the demons until the cows come home.
ES: No sé, puedo matar demonios, no me importa.
EN: So all the washed-up hacks turned English professors can wax poetic until the cows come home. ln the end your talents and your instincts are the only things that really matter.
ES: Todos los escritores mediocres convertidos en profesores pueden dárselas de poéticos pero al final el talento y la intuición son lo único que cuenta.
EN: Well, you can play the "what if" game until the cows come home.
ES: Bueno, no puedes seguir pensando en lo que hubiera podido pasar
EN: Believe me, I can bullshit until the cows come home, but...
ES: Créeme. Puedo mentirte hasta el día del juicio, pero...
EN: He's a politician, mayor, and the lot. We can talk about this until the cows come home... and it won't get us anywhere!
ES: Político, prefecto, todo eso, ¡el cuento de nunca acabar!
EN: Listen, you can play with these jewels until the cows come home.
ES: Escucha, puedes jugar con estas joyas hasta que vuelen las vacas.
EN: You'd rather rot here until the cows come home?
ES: ¿Prefieres pudrirte aquí hasta que se nos echen encima?
EN: Yeah. I can talk about crown moldings and recessed lighting until the cows come home, but nothing compares with that sound right there.
ES: Puedo hablar de cornisas y lámparas empotradas hasta que las vacas vuelvan a casa, pero nada es comparable con ese sonido de allí.
EN: You can double reverse dog me until the cows come home.
ES: Me puedes doble-revertir-alfa hasta que las vacas lleguen a casa.

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