a day late and a dollar short
English
Alternative forms
- day late, dollar short
Pronunciation
Audio (AU) (file)
Adjective
a day late and a dollar short
- (US, idiomatic, predicative) Too late and too feeble to achieve the desired effect.
- His apology was a day late and a dollar short.
Usage notes
- Permits relatively little variation, but can be found with shy for short, other units for day and dollar, and occasionally a unit of distance instead of dollar.
Adverb
a day late and a dollar short
- (US, idiomatic) Adverbial use of the adjectival form.
- Help arrived a day late and a dollar short.
See also
- too little, too late