a long time in politics
- idiom
- Literature
:
un largo tiempo en política
- As the election proved, a week can be a long time in politics.
Examples
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Political analysts often remind us that even a day is a long time in politics.
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Things can change quickly; that's a long time in politics!
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He cautioned that a long time in politics can change fortunes overnight.
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That's a long time in politics!
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As the election proved, a week can be a long time in politics.
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Political analysts warn that a long time in politics can lead to unexpected changes.
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He reminded us that a long time in politics can alter public opinion very quickly.
Synonyms
114
5.1
A situation that changes easily and can fail, for example in politics
4
6.1
A time when things keep changing and nothing is certain
Surface Forms
Morphology
a + long + time + in + politics
The phrase is built from fully transparent constituents ('long' + 'time' + 'in' + 'politics') so a learner will understand the literal sense of a long period within the political domain. However, the conventional pragmatic meaning — that political circumstances change quickly and long periods make outcomes uncertain — relies on world knowledge and idiomatic usage rather than pure compositionality, so a B1 learner may not reliably infer the intended inference from the parts alone.
Etymology
A long time in politics comes from the idea that in public life even a short period can bring big change; imagine a politician admired today who is in trouble tomorrow. So, the phrase means 'political situations can change quickly' and warns that predictions are uncertain.