until hell freezes over
1
9.5
- idiom
- Informal
:
hasta que las vacas vuelvan a casa
- She will stay silent until hell freezes over rather than admit she was wrong.
Examples
-
He'll invest in Brazil's desire to drill offshore and state that we will be willing to buy until hell freezes over.
Blog text (1) -
As far as I'm concerned, you can feel Sorry for yourself until hell freezes over.
-
I know you don't agree and she'd deny it until hell freezes over, but she is.
-
"With our luck," I said, "the cable will snap, and we'll be hanging there above the Ganges until hell freezes over."
Fiction book (1992) -
They can chew on these bones," she gave him a militant, daring glance, "until hell freezes over!"
Fiction book (1993) -
He will keep trying until hell freezes over, no matter the challenges he faces.
-
You can argue about that topic until hell freezes over without reaching an agreement.
Synonyms
104
4.8
For a time with no set end
53
5.2
For all time without end
16
7.8
A time that lasts forever
12
1.4
A very long time with no end
8
6.8
Always from now on
3
8.5
For a very long time that seems to never end
3
8.9
Continues for all future time
For a very long time, possibly forever
For a very long time with no clear end
For a very long time that never ends
Antonyms
How Long
53
5.2
- Informal
1
9.5
- Archaic
69
3.9
∞
1.0
Surface Forms
Morphology
The phrase creates a hyperbolic image: knowing 'until', 'hell' (a very hot place) and 'freeze' lets learners infer an impossible or extremely unlikely time, so they can guess it means 'never' or 'for a very long time'. However the interpretation depends on cultural/metaphorical knowledge (that hell is hot and freezing is impossible) rather than straightforward compositional meaning, so it is not fully predictable for an average B1 learner.
Etymology
The idiom until hell freezes over imagines hell — a very hot place — freezing, which sounds impossible. That's why people use it to say something will happen 'for a very long time' or 'never'.