| 释义 |
coon's age
coon's age (ko͞onz)n. Slang A long time.coon's age n slang US a long time coon's′ age`
n.
Informal. a long period of time. [1835–45, Amer.] coon's age
a coon's ageAn exceptionally long period of time. Based on the folk belief that raccoons (shortened colloquially to "coons") had a longer-than-average lifespan. Primarily heard in US, South Africa. It will take a coon's age to get all this work finished! I haven't been on a vacation in a coon's age.See also: agecoon's ageAlso, a dog's age. A very long time, as in I haven't seen Sam in a coon's age, or It's been a dog's age since I went to the ballpark. The first phrase rests on the mistaken idea that raccoons ("coons") live a long time. The variant may reflect a similar assumption but the true origin is not known. [c. 1835] Also see donkey's years. See also: agecoon's age, aA long time. An American expression from the first half of the nineteenth century, it is based on the mistaken idea that raccoons (or “coons”) are long-lived. They are not, but their fur, widely used from colonial times, is sturdy and long-lasting. An early example appears in black dialect in Southern Sketches (1860): “This child haint had much money in a coon’s age.” |