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Cows come home

Posted by Henry on December 09, 2004

In Reply to: Let the ducks go by? posted by Jose Carlos on December 09, 2004

: In Portuguese there is a current expression in these terms: "Deixe os patos passar". It means word by word: Let the ducks go by or pass along.

: This is an ironical expression, whereby someone suggests that something will happen but certainly in a time that will never really come. The origin is probably from a fable in which a king promises to release a young man from death if he is able to tell him a never-ending story. And the astute young man tells a tale of ducks passing along in a stream. One duck follows the other, and the ducks never stop coming. So the story never reaches the end. Waiting for all the ducks to pass means waiting for ever.

: Any equivalent in English?

: Jose Carlos

Til the cows come home?

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