until hell freezes over
English
Alternative forms
- when Hell freezes over
Pronunciation
Audio (AU) (file)
Prepositional phrase
until hell freezes over
- (idiomatic) forever; without success, no matter how long one perseveres
- He can continue to be hard on himself until hell freezes over, because he's so self-centeredly pessimistic that there's nothing I can ever do to lighten him up.
- They can be bellyaching to me about their life's problems until hell freezes over, but it doesn't mean that they'll ever get my sympathy.
- I am prepared to wait for my answer until hell freezes over.