once in a blue moon

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English

Etymology

See blue moon. First use appears c. 1833. See cite below.

Pronunciation

Adverb

once in a blue moon (not comparable)

  1. (idiomatic) Very rarely; very infrequently.
    Synonyms: see Thesaurus:rarely
    Coordinate term: once in a purple moon
    • 1833, J. Lection (publisher), The Athenæum, page 780:
      We are no advocates for the eternal system of producing foreign operas to the exclusion of the works of English composers, but once in a blue moon such a thing may be allowed.
    • 1933, James Hilton, Lost Horizon, published 1973, page 133:
      [T]ime expanded and space contracted, and the name Blue Moon took on a symbolic meaning, as if the future, so delicately plausible, were of a kind that might happen once in a blue moon only.

Translations

See also

Wikious
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