donkey's ears
See also: donkey ears and donkey's years
English
A long time, long like donkey’s ears
Etymology
1916 UK, from British rhyming slang, rhyming with years, due to donkey’s ears being long.[1]
Pronunciation
Audio (AU) (file)
Noun
donkey's ears pl (plural only)
- (British, idiomatic) A long time, years and years.
- 1916, E. V. Lucas, The Vermilion Box:[1]
- Now for my first bath for what the men call ‘Donkey’s ears’, meaning years and years.
- 1916, E. V. Lucas, The Vermilion Box:[1]
- (military, slang) A pair of scissor binoculars.
Synonyms
- ages
- donkey's years
- years and years
- yonks
Derived terms
References
- Gary Martin (1997–) “Donkey's years”, in The Phrase Finder, retrieved 26 February 2017.
- Michael Quinion (April 15, 2000) “Donkey's years”, in World Wide Words.
- “Donkey’s Ears”, Web's greatest dick’n’arry of Cockney Rhyming Slang.
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