once in a blue moon
6
5.0
- idiom
- Informal
:
de vez en cuando
- But once in a blue moon, a special love story comes along where the misunderstood hero has the strength to let the love of his live go because he knows it's the right thing to do.
- comes once in a blue moon
- happens once in a blue moon
- see me only once in a blue moon
These might be semi annual, this might be annual, this might be once in a blue moon.
- These might be semi annual, this might be annual, this might be once in a blue moon.
- But The thing is, things like the GameStop situation, they only happen once in a blue moon.
- Liners like this come across in a like once in a blue moon.
Examples
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An originality that you only find once in a blue moon.
Blog text (29) -
And then once in a blue moon, your insane idea actually pays off.
Blog text (12) -
Not once in a blue moon does someone win every single game they play.
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Try going with your feelings once in a blue moon.
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I will buy them once in a blue moon.
Blog text (18) -
So, yeah, blunders happen, but it tends to be once in a blue moon, and not multiple times each week.
Blog text (27) -
I'm not particularly photogenic and only come out looking that way in photos once in a blue moon.
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I rarely gamble or buy lottery tickets (only once in a blue moon, just for fun).
Blog text (17) -
If what you do is rare or openings come up once in a blue moon, you may be at this awhile.
Blog text (6) -
I only eat dessert once in a blue moon.
Synonyms
∞
1.0
On some occasions but not always
539
1.0
Happens only a few times
438
2.0
Happens sometimes but not often
427
1.6
Sometimes, but not very often
285
1.0
Happens sometimes but not very often
137
2.0
Sometimes, not very often
122
1.7
Not happening or done very often
88
1.6
Happens one or two times, not often
79
1.7
It happens sometimes but not very often
54
2.3
Happens sometimes but not very often
16
5.0
Happening only sometimes
Not happening often
Antonyms
How Often
∞
1.0
∞
1.0
∞
1.0
438
2.0
- Informal
6
5.0
∞
1.0
Surface Forms
Morphology
The literal parts ('once', 'in', 'a', 'blue', 'moon') do not straightforwardly yield 'very rarely' unless a learner already knows that a 'blue moon' labels an unusual/rare event; 'once' alone only indicates a single occasion. Because the idiomatic rarity sense depends on cultural/encyclopedic knowledge about 'blue moon' rather than purely compositional semantics, the expression is partially but not fully transparent to B1 learners.
Etymology
The phrase once in a blue moon comes from the idea of a blue moon, a rare second full moon in a month. So saying once in a blue moon means 'very rarely'.