since Hector was a pup
- idiom
- UK
:
desde hace mucho tiempo
- I've been waiting for you since Hector was a pup!
Examples
-
She has been living here since Hector was a pup.
-
I've been hearing that story since Hector was a pup.
-
My grandfather has lived in this house since Hector was a pup.
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She claims they've known each other since Hector was a pup.
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I've been hearing that story since Hector was a pup.
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My grandfather has lived in this house since Hector was a pup.
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She claims they've known each other since Hector was a pup.
Synonyms
22
7.3
A long time ago
5
7.7
Since a long time ago
1
3.2
From a very long time ago up to now
For a very long time
How Long
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning is directly built from 'since' + the time-clause 'Hector was a pup' and thus reads as 'from the time Hector was young'; the pragmatic inference 'a long time ago/for a very long time' is straightforward. This is a transparent temporal/hyperbolic extension that follows common cross-linguistic patterns (e.g. 'since I was a boy'), so a B1 learner who knows the words can derive the intended meaning.
Etymology
Since Hector was a pup comes from the simple image of a dog named Hector when he was a pup, a young dog. It is a playful way to say 'for a very long time'.