that'll be the day

English

Etymology

Originally referring to a significant day in the future regarded as worth waiting for.^[1]

Pronunciation

(Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˌðætl̩ biː ðə ˈdeɪ/
(General American) IPA^(key): /ˌðætl̩ bi ðə ˈdeɪ/
Audio (General Australian): (file)

Phrase

that'll be the day

(originally Australia, New Zealand, idiomatic, informal) Said in reply to something that one believes will never happen.
Synonym: that'll be the frosty Friday

I’m going to get into work on time today. — That’ll be the day!

Translations

said in reply to something that one believes will never happen

Finnish: sen päivän kun näkisi
French: quand les poules auront des dents (fr), c’est pas demain la veille (fr)
Greek: ζήσε Μάη μου (zíse Mái mou), ζήσε Μάη μου να φας τριφύλλι (el) (zíse Mái mou na fas trifýlli, literally “(of a donkey in winter) live till May and eat clover”)
Russian: когда́ рак на горе свистнет (ru) (kogdá rak na gore svistnet, literally “when the crayfish will whistle on the mountaintop”)
Spanish: el día que la vaca vuele

See also

References

^ “that’ll (also that will) be the day, phrase” under “day, n.”, in OED Online ⁠, Oxford, Oxfordshire: Oxford University Press, September 2023; “that will be the day, phrase” under “day, n.”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.

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